Takyou, Kondo
by qkslvr
Summary: All the seishi have been reincarnated the way they wanted, but one is yet to find out what kind of life he'd lead. Yatta! HisouxYoushi in the works...but I'm getting there...I really am, I swear
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** Me no own. Me no money. Me no boyfriend. (argh, doesn't life suck?)

**Spoilers:** I'm not sure just yet. Actually, I still have no idea on what direction the story would go. Anyway, let's just make it for the whole series to be safe, kay?

**Note:** This is the prologue to another desperate attempt at a story that people would ACTUALLY REVIEW. *breathes* I'm calm. Anyway, the title means "Another Place, Another Time" in rough Japanese transliteration.

**TAKYOU, KONDO**

**Prologue.**

_Hotohori, your turn._

Hotohori looked at the apparition before him. An image of a male, shining with an ominous, yet soothing light all around him.

_What is it do you want to be?_

True to her words, Taiitsukun made sure the demised seishi were given a choice of their next life. Everyone went before him. Mitsukake wanted anywhere near Shouka, Chiriko didn't care, as long as he would have a normal childhood, a happy family, and a chance to grow up. Nuriko…Nuriko made a cryptic request. Unknown to anyone, except Taiitsukun and himself.

But, what about him? Where did he want to go?

"I…I want to be where I'm supposed to be…"

His god gave him a final smile before the bright red light engulfed him.


	2. First Part

**Disclaimers:** Not mine. Don't sue. No money. I swear.

**Notes:** another reincarnation fic featuring (tadadadaaaaaa) our beloved Emperor. I've noticed that Nuriko's mostly the subject of most reincarnation fics and I'm about to break the rules! Well, not really, he still plays a HUGE part in this being…well; you'll just have to find out, ne?

Oh yeah, I used different names for them. I dunno, just want to.

**Migoto Hisoume**—Hotohori reincarnation (name means beautiful lonely eyes, roughly^_^)

**Seikou Youshi**—Nuriko (delicate figure…still rough)****

**TAKYOU, KONDO**

**(Another Place, Another Time)**

**PART ONE**

"Hisou! Hisou-chan! Wake up!"

Bright light emanated from the blinds. Of all the times to leave that thing open…

"HISOU! Come down here! You're gonna be late!"

Hisoume squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to wakefulness. Closing his hands into fists, he stretched languidly across the bed, ruffling the sheets at his waist. Relaxing for a few seconds, he finally slid his legs on the side of the bed, again stretching his arms upward.

"Hisoume! Are you awake?!" his mom called from the kitchen.

"Yes, mom. I'll…I'll just take a shower!" He looked at his bedside watch, 7:00am. Enough time.

"Okay, hurry up and come down for breakfast."

As he slowly walked toward the chair where he left his unused towel from last night, he could hear shuffling from the bathroom he shared with his sister.

"Houki? Are you almost done?" he asked around a yawn, while leaning on the doorframe.

More shuffling could be heard from inside, then the door opened to reveal his sister, dressed in their school's required uniform: white long-sleeved blouse, plaid skirt that reached to the middle of the thighs and long, knee-length socks. She grinned at her brother's present state, "Rough night?"

Hisou grinned back, shoving his sister to the side and closed the door to the bathroom.

---

Thirty minutes later, he was dressed in a white dress shirt and black pants, tie and blazer on one arm, knapsack on the other, hair impeccable as always.

"Nice of you to join us, honey. Did you sleep well?" his mother asked, handing him a plate stacked with pancakes and bacon.

Houki giggled at her brother's wide eyes, Hisou just grinned and winked at his sister. He slumped at his place beside his father, taking a bite out of his food.

"Hisou, hurry up with that, I have to get to school early," Houki said, her attention fully on tying her necktie.

Hisou gave her a stern gaze that said, '_then why haven't you gone yet?_' but quickly gulped the last of his juice and grabbed his stuff before kissing his mom goodbye and waving hurriedly to his father.

~*~

Hisou and Houki arrived at school 15 minutes early. Houki quickly grabbed her stuff and hopped off the car after kissing Hisou on the cheek. Hisou, on the other hand, after finding an appropriate parking space, walked at a more leisurely pace. He still had a lot of time to kill before class started. Besides, he loves the sun in the morning.

As he was nearing his locker, still in a serene mood, a strong force sent him stumbling backwards.

"Ah! I'm sosososo sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going!"

Hisou smiled, he was in a pretty good mood that morning, a little bump couldn't ruin that. "It's okay, I wasn't watching either."

Standing before him was a purple-haired…guy, also dressed in the same dress shirt and slacks, with intense eyes, purple still, but about two shades darker. "Well, okay. I have to go, sorry again."

RRRRRIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG

Students flooded the hallways, running left and right. People were pushing past him in an attempt to get to their respective homerooms. On ordinary situations, the fact that he was being pushed would royally piss him, but he was on an unnaturally good mood that day to even care.

As he reached his own first period class, the PA system cracked to life and the headmaster's voice could be heard.

"Migoto Hisoume, please go to my office immediately."

Usually, a student gets called to the headmaster's office because of an offense or possible failure, but in his case, it was different. For him, Migoto Hisoume, Class President, it always means errand. He groaned, _nothing like an errand to put a damper on my day._

He made a full 180 degrees, went up a flight of stairs, and entered the headmaster's office, fifth door to the left. He was greeted by Alice, the secretary. She, like every other female in campus had a crush on him, he doesn't mind. He's beautiful, nothing's wrong with that. He smiled back, "Mr. Johnson called for me?"

"Yes, he's inside, just go in." the girl gestured to the door, golden curls flying at every single turn of her head.

Hisou opened the door slightly and peeked in the office, it was, as usual, impeccably kept, the headmaster sitting at the table right across from the door, a picture of the school's founder on the wall behind him. "Sir? You needed me?"

The man, in his early sixties, pushed his eyeglasses from his nose and smiled, "Ah, yes. Come in. Migoto Hisoume, I'd like you to meet Youshi, Seiko Youshi. He's a new student, just transferred from Japan, I'd like you to show him around."

Hisou looked over the person sitting in front of the headmaster, vaguely trying to remember where he saw that distinct hair color. The person turned around. "Ohayo, boku wa Youshi." Smiling in front of him was the person he bumped into earlier.

He held out his hand and introduced himself as politely as possible, "Douzoyoroshiku, boku wa Hisoume."

Youshi laughed and accepted his proffered hand, "I'm so glad you can speak Japanese, I'm totally lost here!"

The exact moment their hands met, a sudden familiar feeling struck Hisou from the core of his being.

AN: as I was researching for a name for Nuriko's reincarnation, I found out that _Ryuuchou_ in English means _flowing_. Isn't it sugoi? Hehe. The title means "another place, another time" again, a rough transliteration. I'm not that knowledgeable with Japanese, so any unfamiliar Jap. words here came fresh form the dictionary.  ^_^

**Douzoyoroshiku**—nice to meet you


	3. Second Part

**Disclaimer:** Watase Yuu is to Fushigi Yuugi; Qkslvr is to…a hairclip. Got it?

**Note:** Honestly, this whole name-changing thing is taking its toll on me. I had to continuously check the characters' new names and the spelling… -_- I know how bad this part is, believe me. I just wanted to put something up today…

Anyway, I still have them, though! Here are the others:

**Migawari Aiji**—Chiriko (sacrifice of a beloved child)

**Jinsoku Hisaki—**Tasuki (swift flames)****

**PART TWO**

Hisou and Youshi exited the headmaster's office and walked down the hall to Youshi's second period.

Hisou halted in front of a door, "Well, here you go, Room 243. English with Mrs. Peters. Good luck!" Hisou gave him a thumbs-up and returned Youshi's schedule sheet. "Since we have the same lunch period, we can meet at the lunchroom 4th period, and I'll show you around."

Youshi smiled and shoved the piece of paper in his jacket pocket. "Ah, honto ni? Arigato."

As Youshi went inside, Hisou was left on the hall, pondering. _There's something familiar about that guy, I just can't figure what…_

---

Youshi looked to all directions, the lunchroom wasn't very packed, but being a new student in a new place where people wear the same thing, finding a person wasn't exactly a walk in the park.

He spotted Hisou about five million tables away at the end of the room (lunchrooms in this school is BIG!!), chatting with a guy who had shoulder-length brown hair, tied at the nape and another one wildly making some gestures of what Youshi could make of was an explosion.

When he caught Hisou's eyes, he waved furiously. Hisou waved back and signaled him to join them. After 48 years, and several scratches later, he was finally settled at Hisou's right side, trying to catch the other guys' names amid the noisy surrounding.

Hisou introduced him to the guy with brown hair. "Youshi, meet Migawari Aiji. The class Vice President, he's the same year as us."

_Same year? This kid looks no more than 13!_ Youshi thought.

"Are you the new student? You're in my History class, aren't you?" Aiji smiled, extending his hand, the movement making his traitorous fringes fall to his eyes.

"Ah…yes." Youshi looked at the extended hand, people in this country sure liked to shake hands, he'd much rather bow, but seeing as it's a common custom, he took the hand and smiled warmly.

"Oi, El Presidente! Ya gonna fuckin introduce me or do I hafta do the honors myself?"

Hisou winced at his friend's language, but smiled and turned to Youshi, "This is Hisaki, Jinsoku Hisaki. He's a senior like us." Hisou leaned to whisper, "only a bit on the rebellious side."

"What the…man, is this what ya do for yer friends? After all that I've done for ya?!"

Hisou and Hisaki seemed to him like really old friends from the way they tease each other. Youshi giggled at their antics, especially Hisaki's. He liked them already, no longer feeling like the awkward stranger he was that morning. The four engaged in a very animated conversation (courtesy of Hisaki), which consisted mostly of Youshi talking about himself, Aiji commenting something intelligent, Hisaki gesturing wildly, with expletives to match, and Hisou quietly pondering about the boy beside him with the intense purple eyes.

---

"So, Hisou-chan…what's on the list today?" Hisaki said, slinging an arm around Hisoume's neck as they were going out of their last class when the final bell rang.

Hisou frowned, glancing at his childhood friend, "well, I've a test on Biology, a paper in Literature, a recitation in History, and recital in Music. On top of that, I still have a fencing match this Friday. So, pretty much, nothing but studies."

"Goddammit to hell! This school is nothing but Evil! EVIL I TELL YOU!!!" Hisaki growled, fists shaking in front of his face.

Hisou laughed, "So, you had a bad day, huh? Lemme see…" he said, stopping and assuming a thinking pose with his fingers brushing along his chin, "Mr. Willis caught you sleeping in class, AGAIN."

Hisaki glared at him, he continued, "No? Oh…wait, Mrs. Peters picked you and your 'favorite' partner for a project that could well last for the rest of the year?"

Still ignoring Hisaki's piercing looks, "Oh, wait…you forgot your comb at home?" he giggled.

Hisaki, on the other hand, was not so amused. His nose started flaring with steam, "Oh! I know! Your team lost at basketball!"

"AND THAT'S NOT FUCKIN IT!! They friggin said that I was the goddamn reason we lost! Me! ME! Those mother…they can't even fuckin tell a ball from an fuckin egg!" Hisaki fumed, face red-hot.

Trying his best not to die laughing, Hisou just resorted to calming down his friend. "Nah, don't worry about it. You did your best, right?"

"Like HELL I did! I was the only reason they were a team at ALL!"

They resumed the walk and headed to the student parking lot where Hisou left his car earlier. At the sight of the vehicle, Hisaki's jaw fell.

There, in front of them, was the reason why Hisou was unnaturally happy that morning. Hisaki slowly walked to it, marveling at how the blue surface perfectly reflected his reactions. "Fuckin 'ell, dude. This is one fuckin sweet ride. When'd ya get it?"

Hisou smiled proudly, fingers lightly grazing the smooth exterior, "I know. Dad gave it to me last night. It was a surprise."

"Yeah, bet Megumi almost had a heart attack." Hisaki grinned, remembering Hisou's mother. He liked her, she's cool. Even by teenage standards. Plus, she liked him, and that's more than what he expect from parents. He continued examining the vehicle, then turned to Hisou, eyes almost pleading.

"Good God, no. I can still remember what you did to my first car." Hisou said, clutching his keys harder.

Hisaki frowned, "Fuck man, that was like 2 goddamn years ago. Besides, nobody got hurt."

But Hisou was adamant, "Yeah, except the car. It looked like it went to hell and back…5 times! Totaled wasn't even fit to describe it. There's no way in hell you're touching the driver's side of my car. Now, if you'd please stop sulking and get in. I have a lot to do."

"…"

"Oi, 'Saki, you coming or what?"

"Fine, but I'm fuckin mad at ya. Remember that."

Hisou just shook his head. Hisaki was always such a baby behind that tough appearance. "Okay, just get in."

AN: Oi! Am I doing good on this translation thing, or what?! See Chiriko's reincarnation's name's translation? ^_^' It's a whooooole thought. Nice, huh? About Tasuki, well, his seishi gift's speed, right? Well…there ya go! ^_~

In case anyone's wond'rin about the 'favorite partner,' this is also a character. I'll introduce this later.


	4. Third Part

Disclaimer: refer to prologue-part2 

**Note:** And here's another part…AGAIN. Obviously, I've got nothing useful to do around here. Hence, the quick uploading of new parts. This part's a bit sad. And oh…I have a CLIFFHANGER! Heehee…don't mind me. I just ate a whole pint'a ice cream, I think the sugar's reacting already. Anyway, I have a new character. This is so cool, I wasn't really sure how I'd introduce this (character), but when I typed this chapter, the plot kinda just gave me an opening and me, being the smart person I am, took it! So folks, here you have it:

**Shitsuren Anrui—**Mistukake (broken heart and silent tears. Cheesy, I know. But I can't think of any)****

**PART THREE**

"Mom, I'm home!"

Megumi peered from the kitchen smiling, "Hi, dinner's almost ready. Is your sister with you?"

Hisou removed his shoes and dropped his bag on the couch, "No, she said she'd be going home with a friend. Didn't she call you?"

"No. Well, she might be home in a little."

He entered the kitchen and saw his mom preparing what seemed like an apple pie, "Mmm! That smells good!"

She laughed, "Of course! And it is. Now why don't you give me a hand and hold that door open for me? Oh, and can you chop some tomatoes there?"

Hisou gave way to his mother holding the aforementioned apple pie and a bowl of salad. "Is dad here, yet?"

"Nope. He called in earlier to say he'd be late a little, he's trying to close this deal with a new client. How's your day?" She asked, her voice muffled from the other room.

Hisou went over to the counter and washed the tomatoes, "Oh, same old, same old. Oh, there's a new student who arrived today. He's from Japan. Tokyo, I think. Mr. Johnson asked me to show him around."

"Today? Isn't it a bit late to be coming in with school almost closing?" Megumi asked, entering the kitchen.

Hisou shrugged, "I know. Anyway, he's really nice…name's Youshi Seikou. Hmm…what part of Japan did you come from again?"

"Uhm…Hokkaido, the suburb areas. Anyway, that's my parents. I was born and raised here. We brought you and Houki there when you were young, don't you remember?" she asked while adding the tomatoes to whatever she was cooking.

Hisou looked at her, thinking, "no…not really. How old was I then?"

She smiled, "5, and Houki was 3. Yeah, you probably might not remember that."

Just then, the phone rang. Hisou got up and answered it, "Moshi moshi, Migoto shitei," he looked up at his mom and grinned. She grinned back.

"Ah…yes. Yes, I'm her brother. Why?" pause, Hisou started shaking, looking alarmed, "What's the matter? Wh-where is she?!" another pause, Megumi looked at her son, fear in her eyes, mixed with tears. "Okay, okay. We'll be right over."

Hisou replaced the handset on the wall and looked at his mother, "H-Houki was in an accident."

---

The place was pristine, save for the people sitting along the halls, others being hauled in stretchers, others in wheelchairs, blood sprouting from different parts of their body. Hisou looked around, clutching his mom beside him. He sat her on one of the chairs and approached the front desk. "Hi, my sister was sent here earlier, Houki Migoto." He was grasping the wood hard, to keep himself from falling. He had been shaking since he received the call form one of Houki's friends telling him that his sister had been in an accident and was sent to a hospital. He looked at his mother while waiting for the receptionist to tell him where Houki was and how she was. Megumi was in no better shape than he was. She had cried all the way, almost totally immobile. He had to carry her form the house to the car, and form there to the hospital.

Since he was a kid, he never liked hospitals. The moment one enters, he can already smell the metallic taste of blood, mixed with death. And the fact that he was there because his sister was there made him queasy.

"Sir?" a voice from the recesses of his subconscious called to him. That's when he realized that the girl at the desk was talking to him. He blinked, "Yes?"

She smiled. He was good-looking, and he looked very concerned with his sister. The look in his eyes could only come from a deep love that can't be disguised, "Your sister's at the ER at the moment. The doctors are still checking her condition. If you would just sign these papers and wait over there," she said, handing him a bunch of papers and gestured to a row of seats by the wall.

Too nervous to even be polite, he snatched the papers and sat beside his mother who was still obviously shaking, her body wracked with tears.

_Don't worry, she'll be fine. They're just checking her to see that she's okay. Nothing wrong with her. Just fill up these damn papers and get your mind off of anything bad._ He told himself. Fumbling with a pen, he started filling up the papers. His fingers were shaking so hard, he couldn't even hold the pen long enough. _What it WRONG with you? Get a grip on yourself. You can't break down just yet, your mother…_

He looked at his mother, some hospital staff already gave her a glass of water and some depressants. Never really good with emotions, he just wrapped his arms around his mother's shoulders, trying to comfort her. _I'm not good with comforting others. Houki's…_

_Shut up Hisou. Shut up and stop thinking. Just fill up the papers._

Again, he tried holding the pen and focusing on the piece of paper in front of him. It was just the basics. Name, address, age, sex, insurance number…just the normal stuff. Like what they're doing to Houki right now, just normal stuff…

Finally giving up on the pen he still can't hold due to the fact that he's shaking so hard. He decided to make some calls. He looked at his mom again, and after seeing her a bit calmed down, he stood.

First, his dad. From the shock of the news, he forgot to call his dad and tell him of what happened. He must be home now.

_RRRIIIIINNNGGGG_

The shrieking sound was irritating to his ears. It was too loud. But, he had to do it. "Hello?"

He swallowed, "Dad? I-I'm at the hospital."

From his end of the phone, he could hear the instant panic that wrapped itself around his dad's voice. "I'm okay. Mom's here with me."

He can just picture his dad right now, shaking, gripping at the table for balance. "No, mom's okay. I-I-it's Houki."

More tremors, he's crying. "She was in an accident. Th-the doctors are ch-checking up on her right now."

Hearing his dad's frantic voice, he just wanted to go and sulk at the corner, hide from everybody and wish this was nothing but a dream. A bad dream he never would have again. Ever. "Okay, we'll wait for you."

_Click._

Next was Hisaki. He knows his best friend adored Houki. He's actually more protective of her than Hisou was. He had a right to know what happened. Besides, he really need somebody right now.

After two rings, there was someone at the other end. "Hu-hello? Mrs. Jinsoku, it's Hisou. Is Hisaki there?"

He could hear his friend's footsteps thudding as he was approaching the phone. "Hello, 'Saki? Hisou. Houki's been in an accident."

Screaming. Hisaki's voice had the same tremor he heard from his dad and he himself. "Yes, we're at the hospital right now. The doctors are checking up on her."

He could note that Hisaki was on the verge of crying, if not already. "Okay, I'll wait for you."

He pressed the 'End' button and shoved the phone in his jacket pocket. He was still wearing his school uniform and by now, the edge of the blazer was heavily wrinkled from him. He walked back to his mom to find a doctor talking to her.

"…see her?" the doctor, a tall man with a deep but gentle voice, was regarding Megumi with concern. She had been given depressants, and she was now looking on the edge of wakefulness. Another man approached him, tall, long brown hair tied in a loose ponytail, wearing the uniform of a private school nearby, "Doctor? How's my sister?"

The doctor extended his hand, "I'm Dr. Shitsuren. Are you Houki's brother?"

"Yes, how's she?" Hisou asked, accepting the hand. Just then, a man, in his late forties turned around the corner, looking frantically for something. When his eyes landed on Hisou, he exhaled heavily and again, ran to the boy and the doctor, "Where is she? Is she alright?"

Dr. Shitsuren looked at the man, he looked like the victim's brother, so he assumed he was the father, "Mr. Migoto? I'm Dr. Shitsuren, I was the one assigned to check on your daughter."

He looked at the doctor in front of him, standing beside his son. He looked no more than 25, which, would possibly make him a bit adamant about not letting him touch his daughter, but there was something in his eyes that was like pleading for trust. Right there and then, he knew. He could trust him, "How is she? Is she alright?"

"She's okay, just a few cuts and bruises. Her right femur seemed to have a fraction from the force of the collision, but she seemed okay. The bullet shot, though…" he looked down, not sure how to say it to the expectant eyes staring at him. He could hear the loud sob that escaped the mother's mouth, feel the sudden stiffness of the father, and understand all the emotions gone through by the brother that seemed to emanate from the formed fist at his side.

Just as he was about to continue, there was a loud crash that came from the left side of the hall, and the next thing he knew, he was shoved to a wall, hard brown eyes slightly obscured by flaming red hair daring him to make a wrong twitch, "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKIN ABOUT A FUCKIN GUNSHOT? WHAT GUNSHOT DAMNIT?!!"

AN:  The mother-son conversation covers why Hisou has a Jap name while he lives in…let's just say somewhere in the US. Somebody asked me why I named Hisou's sister Houki. Well, it's actually just a whim. I wanted to give him a sister. But, I might use it for some reason in the future. Just wait. Also, don't get me wrong…Hisou and 'Saki are NOT and I mean **_NOT_** together. They're just really close friends. They don't hide emotions from each other. Okay? Okay. Also…about Hisaki's eyes. I'm not sure if it's brown, orange, or red (geez, imagine if he has sore eyes). Anyway, one of the pictures looked like he's got brown eyes. So there.

**Shitei—**private residence


	5. Fourth Part

Disclaimer: It's mine! ALL MINE!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! *calm men in white coats appear* whoopsies… *runs* 

**Note:** Aaaaanndd…here's another one. Really, I should be doing my Physics report, but…oh well.****

**PART FOUR**

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKIN ABOUT A FUCKIN GUNSHOT? WHAT GUNSHOT DAMNIT?!!"

Dr. Shitsuren looked at the person pinning him to the wall, the entire event from the point of contact still leaving him shocked. The boy looked no more than about 17 or 18, the same age as the victim's brother. He had bright…orange hair and blazing brown…no, amber eyes that regarded him with promises of more violence. The boy was strong. He couldn't tell if it was because he was caught by surprise mixed with the boy's obvious adrenaline rush, or because he just is. All he knows is that his back is continuous throbbing from the impact and the fact that it's still being rubbed against the wall.

The other occupants of the hall looked as surprised as he was, no one still making any move to remove the man holding him by the collar away from him. It wasn't until the victim's brother—Hisou—placed a light hand on the other boy's shoulder did he let the doctor go. "Calm down, Saki. We still don't know what happened. This," he said, motioning at the man in white, trying to straighten his coat and regaining composure, "is Dr. Shitsuren. He's the one checking Houki."

Hisaki eyed the doctor skeptically, not trusting, even for a minute, Houki's life under his hands. _Heh, I may be no Aiji, but I know a fuckin incompetent shit when I see one…I hope he fuckin knows what he's doing…_

"There you are! What happened?" Another…person arrived, hair disheveled and panting. Behind him, another…person who was apparently in the same state looked at everyone.

Hisou turned at the familiar voice, "Aiji?! What're you doing here?" he looked at the person behind Aiji, "Youshi. Why are you here? How'd you know we were here?"

After taking more deep breaths, Aiji straightened up, "I called your house this afternoon, but no one was answering. So, I decided to go there. But when I arrived, no one was home. Then, your neighbor told me you and your mom left earlier, saying something about going to the hospital. What happened?"

Hisou's face reverted to the same concern-worried-sick look he had before Hisaki arrived, "Houki was in an accident. She was shot."  
Youshi's face twisted in a look of anguish, "How is she?"

Hisou looked at him, gratitude written on his face for the concern, "She's still in the emergency room, the doctor's are checking on him."

Aiji went up to the doctor standing at the edge of the group, back against the wall, "Are you the doctor checking on Houki? How is she?"

Dr. Shitsuren, regarded the kid and their other friends, "Well, as I was saying before," he looked pointedly at Hisaki who returned with a defiant stare, "She was shot. The bullet went through her side and through her 7th and 8th ribs. We don't know much yet, since the X-ray hasn't returned yet, but we're afraid it might have punctured her lungs."

Megumi, who finally stopped sobbing minutes earlier and was now nestled in the arms of her husband, let out a loud gasp. Hisou looked at her and his father, his heart breaking at the sight of them like this, he had to be strong, "What do you have to do if…if…it…"

Anrui Shitsuren, MD, resident physician, looked at the shaking boy in front of him, "If that is the case, we might have to operate. We hope the only operation we had to do is to extract the bullet form the body, but—" whatever he was going to say was cut by an announcement on the PA "DR. ANRUI SHITSUREN, OR 3. DR. SHITSUREN, OR 3."

"Well, that's me. I have to go," he was about to turn the corner when he saw the parents. He stopped and placed a gentle hand on the father's shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll do everything in my power to heal your daughter. Just pray and hope for the best," and with that, he left.

The others were left staring at the doctor, was there a flicker of emotion there, or what?

---

"What the fuck's takin 'em so damn long?! Does it need a whole fuckin DAY to remove one lousy bullet?!" Hisaki'd been pacing back and forth for almost a whole hour now. They were in the room assigned to Houki. Mr. and Mrs. Migoto were busy preparing the room for Houki's return, Mrs. Migoto letting out little silent sobs. The guys—Hisou, Youshi, Aiji, and Hisaki—in their own little corners of the room, contemplating.

Silence reigned the room for several minutes, everyone too wrapped up in different emotions to talk. Then, Hisou straightened up from his slumped position on the bedside couch, "Aiji, why were you here again?"

Aiji looked up, "Oh yeah. I called you earlier because Youshi needed to talk to you."

Hisou looked from the brown haired boy to the purple-haired one sitting by the window, "What'd you need me for?" he asked, in a tone as gentle as he can muster.

"I-I was wondering what the homework was in Math. But, don't worry, it's okay…" Youshi said, glancing at Hisou before looking outside again.

Then, the door opened, 2 police officers walked in. every head turned to them, "Yes?"

One of them, a tall brown haired man, in his late forties, hair balding at the side, regarded everyone with an emotionless look, "I'm Officer Perez, and this is Officer Burton. We were investigating the accident that happened earlier on the corner of Oak and Palm. The one which involved a Houki Migoto." He looked at the two eldest in the room, "Are you parents?"

Mr. Migoto nodded. Perez continued, "We just caught the guy who shot your daughter, would you mind coming down to the station for a while?"

Seeing the obvious shaking of his father and the his mother's weakness, Hisou stepped up, "I'm Houki's brother, can I just come down instead of my parents?"

Perez looked to Burton, then the parents, "If your parents don't mind."

He looked at his parents and smiled at them, "I'll do it. You should be here for when Houki arrives."

Mr. Migoto smiled back and nodded. Hisou grabbed his coat from the bed and walked to the officers. At the same moment, Hisaki, Aiji and Youshi all grabbed their coats and headed for the door as well. Hisou looked at them and smiled, when he turned to see the look of puzzlement on the two officers' face, he smiled, "It's okay, they're my friends and Houki's. Can they come?"

Burton shrugged, "Sure, the more the merrier."

---

The first thing they saw when they entered the station was a man almost wreaking havoc at the desk, they looked to each other. "Nah, dun' worry. Happens all the time." Burton smiled, leading them to another room.

Aiji read the room's door. "Sheriff". He looked back on the episode taking place in front of the desk and shuddered. When he entered the room, he saw a man—the sheriff—sitting behind a brown, cluttered desk, "Close the door, son." He closed the door and moved to sit beside his companions.

The sheriff was reading some papers—reports—that were placed in front of him before looking up at Hisou. "I understand there was an accident that took place around 5 this afternoon, and it involved your sister?"

Hisou nodded, not liking the term the older man used, "involved," it sounded like she was one of the criminals, "Yes, she was the victim."

"Okay, we found the person who shot her. But, I must warn you, you are not to physically assault the person, okay? If you do so, I might just be forced to put you in jail with him. Understand?" he looked at the young man sitting in front of him, then addressed his friends, "and that goes for all of you as well, got it?"

Agreements were grunted. The sheriff got up and addressed the officers from earlier, "I'll take care of this. Thank you officers," to the kids, he signaled, "Okay, come with me. He's in questioning room."

The questioning room was, like those in TV, dark, consisting of one long table, minus the glaring light that was supposed to burn the criminal's skin to admittance. A chair was situated in front of the door, its back to them so they can't see who was being questioned. Aiji elbowed Youshi lightly and whispered, "Why are we here? Aren't we supposed to be in an adjacent room, being spectators to the questioning that taked place?" Youshi looked at him and just shrugged, what the hell the does know about the proper procedures? He's new to the U.S. fro God's sake.

When they entered the room, Hisaki's blood began to boil, and only Hisou's hand on his arm was stopping him from breaking the guy's neck and shoving it up his ass. As they were approaching, he saw a familiar shade of blue hair…no, it's…

"YOU?! YOU FUCKIN PIECE'O SHIT! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HOUKI?!?! I'M GONNA FUCKIN…"

AN: A-ha! Who's the guy? Ya have any ideas? I'm actually getting a hang of letting Hisaki have the last word every chapter…makes for a dramatic ending, don'tcha think? hehe


	6. Fifth Part

Disclaimer: Well, you get the idea… 

**Note: **ARGH!!!! It's so HOOOOTTTTTT here! We reached 36C today! Anyway, to those who were won'drin why I update so fast (not like you'd care, but I'd tell anyway. So nyehehe) is cuz I've got only one class a day and that, mixed with the fact that I've no semblance of a life to speak of, results in this *points down*. To those who reviewed: Arigato for the kind words (guess where I got THAT? hehe)

Otaku Pitcher…argh…I don't wanna disappoint you, since you're like my only faithful reviewer ^_____^ but…

**Kizuato Chuusei—**Chichiri (I'd say scar of loyalty, but it's just scar AND loyalty. I was planning on using something with magic, like magic hand, but it's majikkuhando…what the hell kinda name would THAT be?!)****

**PART FIVE**

The sheriff shook his head, and led the group outside of the questioning room. They entered another room adjacent to the one they came from. When the door was shut, he turned to Hisaki, "What did I say about not assaulting him? Do you REALLY wanna spend a night here? Because if so, I can accommodate that!"

Hisaki turned heated eyes to the glass that separated the room they were in from the other one, "Well, shit! He—"

"I don't care what he did. He's already here. Leave the punishing to US." He turned to the others, Hisou especially. He hasn't said a word since they left his office, "Hey, boy. You wanna talk to him or something?"

Aiji looked from the sheriff to Hisou, then back to the sheriff again, "Ah, sheriff, I don't think so. He looks like his planning ways to kill the guy already."

Youshi snickered, but suddenly realized how inappropriate it was, cut it off and looked at everyone before finally turning to the sheriff, "How did he…?"

"Shoot her? Well, from the reports, she and her friends were going for a ride, prolly going home, when he and his gang spotted them. From what that guy there says, her friend has something to settle with his friend."

Hisaki looked appalled, "So they just fuckin started on a goddamn shooting rampage, and Houki was oh-so conveniently on the fuckin bullet's pathway?!"

The sheriff looked at him, "No. she wasn't 'oh-so conveniently on the fuckin bullet's pathway' and just so you know, he" he motioned toward the guy, "wasn't really the one who did the shooting."

Youshi looked confused, as did everyone else, except for Hisou who still looked as unemotional as ever, "I don't get it, if he wasn't the one who shot her, why is he the one being questioned?"

The sheriff heaved a sigh, "His friend was the one who shot your friend, he was just there. In fact, he was the one who took her to the hospital and called you." He said pointing at Hisou.

"Sheriff, would'ja stop doing those fuckin mind games with us and just tell us the whole fuckin truth?!"

Everyone agreed. The sheriff took one last look at the questioning that was taking place before going out and gesturing for the others to follow him. They went back to his office and shot the door. He sat there behind his desk for a while, letting them steam. Then, when he can't take it anymore, guess who spoke up, "WHAT?!"

"Okay, here's what happened. They—your friends—were driving home. I think to the girl's home. Then, at the corner of Oak and Palm, another car stopped them. The driver went out, and was trying to talk to the other driver,"

Aiji, who seemed to be dissecting the story real hard, looked, "Which driver?"

"The driver from…actually, I don't know. This was just told to one of my men by a witness. Anyway, the conversation got heated up, then the girl—your friend—got out of the car and said something about walking home. One of the drivers—I assumed he was that guy's friend—told her not to, the other just asked the other driver to let her go. When the girl was about to walk away, the other driver shot her."

Hisou's jaw clenched. If he saw the guy…

"What about that guy in there? What does he have to do with all this?" Youshi asked.

The sheriff shifted from his seat, tapping a pen on the desk, "When the gun was fired, he went out of the car. The other driver—the one who made the shot—hurriedly went back in the car and got out of there. The girl's friends were supposed to help her—well, at least the driver was—but another friend of theirs got out and dragged the driver in the car and they, too, got out of there. Leaving him to call you, and take the girl to the hospital."

When he finished the story, he looked at everyone in the room. Everyone had different reactions written on their faces, the purple-haired…he squinted at the person…guy…he looked again closely…yep, definitely a guy…was displaying a look of understanding. The brown-haired kid looked stunned at the new knowledge. The flame-haired boiling pot looked more willing to kill than ever. The guy with long brown hair, who he found out earlier was the brother, looked unemotional, too unemotional in fact, it was almost apathetic.

"So, Chuusei out there didn't do any fuckin thing?" Hisaki asked.

The sheriff looked at Hisaki in mild shock, "Chuusei? Son, I never told you his name…do you know him? Is that why you're so mad at him?"

Hisaki huffed, "Yes, I fuckin know that piece of shit. And no, that's not the reason why I'm pissed. I'm pissed cuz he fuckin shot my best friend's sister, or at least that's what ya told us."

The sheriff smiled, this guy could use 12 cusses in an 11-worded sentence and not know it, "Well, I cleared that, didn't I? But that still doesn't explain how—"

He was cut off by the sound of Hisou's chair being scraped across the floor, "He knows that guy because they have the same English class," he said in his deep voice and stood up, starting for the door, "Can we go now?"

The sheriff did nothing but nod.

~*~

They went back to the hospital at around 10 in the evening. Before going back, Hisou and Hisaki dropped off Youshi at the dorm, and Aiji at his house. By the time they got there, Houki was already out of a successful operation.

"AHH! Houki, you idiot! You don't just go waving that damn body of yers in front of a fuckin gun!" Hisaki shouted the moment he and Hisou walked in the room to find Houki there.

Houki made a face, "Yeah, well. Too late. I already learned that on my own, thank you."

While Hisaki practically broke the door down when he entered, Hisou walked in calmly, albeit worried. He shot a look of pure relief to Houki before heading to where his parents sat. He leaned down to his mom to give her a kiss. She looked worse for the wear, but compared to earlier, she looked better. The paleness of her face was gone, but still covered in worry. His dad looked at him, eyes questioning, he just shrugged and went over to Houki, "How are you?" he asked stroking her hair with one hand, the other on her hand.

"I've been better. You look terrible!" Houki said, looking worried.

Hisaki laughed, Hisou, apart from being considered an over-achieving student, was also very conscious about his physical appearance. "Yeah, Hisou, man. What the fuck happened?"

He looked at his sister and his best friend; they always tease him about his concern for his physical appearance. It used to annoy him to no end. After all, what's wrong with that? He just wanted to look pleasing to others, after all. Even if that meant having to shower for 30 minutes twice a day, combing his hair 100 times on all sides, and washing his hands after doing anything. He made a face and stuck out his tongue at them. Truthfully, he was glad that Houki was still there to tease him about his vanity. If anything happened…_gods, stop thinking that!_ Truly, he was glad. He'd never have it any other way.

~*~

The next day was a mess.

Well, to say the least. To Hisou it was a downright tragedy. He was late for class, he forgot to do his homework, he left his money in his other jacket, and halfway to school, his car broke down. And on top of that, this happens.

He was on the way to the lunchroom when he heard his name being called, really softly. When he turned, he could barely see Chuusei's figure from behind a row of lockers, but the blue hair totally gave him away. How many, after all, students are there with light blue hair that goes down to the back? His blood automatically boiled at the sight of him. This was the guy whose friend shot his sister; no one can really blame him at that moment. He immediately resumed walking to the cafeteria for fear that he might do something they'd all regret.

"Hi-Hisou…" Chuusei called again, a little louder this time.

Hisou stopped walking altogether, but still didn't turn around to look at the person calling him. From the periphery of his vision, he could see a figure—tallish, slim—come out of his place from behind the lockers. The guy approached him slowly. He was beginning to wonder if he can still make a dash for it, he's just really not in the mood to talk about what happened, much less to a guy who was involved, from the other party, no less.

Chuusei stopped in front of Hisou, just a few feet away. He couldn't make himself look at the other guy straight in the eyes. He fidgeted for a while, before finally managing to do so. Hisou, on the other hand, was at the verge of socking the guy's face in. "Hi-Hisou…" Chuusei started.

Hisou, still regarding the other with an impersonal glare, looked, if possible, colder. He raised his eyebrows in question. Chuusei continued, "Can I talk to you? In there?" he asked, pointing to an empty room. Hisou set his jaw, looking at the other man squarely, "What will you say that's so important you can't say it right here?"

"I…last night…I wasn't…" Chuusei started. Hisou continued to regard him indifferently, making him uncomfortable, "I didn't know…"

"What, you didn't know it was my sister, so you didn't make any move to stop that bastard from shooting her?" Hisou said hotly.

Chuusei looked appalled, "What? I…no! I…it's…"

"It's what? It was an accident? That guy deliberately shot her! It was no accident. No, don't tell me, you weren't able to come to her rescue right away because you were temporarily paralyzed at the sight of your friend pointing a gun at someone else? You were afraid that if you interfered right away, it could be you that could end up shot?! Is that it?!"

To an onlooker, it looked just like two high school students, arguing over who's cooler, or who's a better quarterback, or even vying for the attention of the school cheerleader. To the two parties involved, it was an issue no normal high school students should be experiencing. It was almost a contest of wills, well; at least it was, in Hisou's case. It was taking almost everything in him to not beat the man standing in front of him to a pulp. He continued staring at Chuusei, with him stuttering like he was and generally looking pathetic altogether, holding the urge to just hit him was taking more than what he expected.

"I…I…look, I didn't know he'd actually shoot her…I…I'm sorry, I really am," Chuusei said, eyes downcast. Hisou looked furiously at him before turning on his heels and continued on to the lunchroom. But, before he can even go any farther, Chuusei held his arm and turned him around. He did, but before the other could say anything else, he took a deep breath, braced himself, and…

…punched Chuusei right on the nose.

AN: Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry! I tried to make Chuusei a nice guy, I did! Anyway, I'll redeem Chichiri's character in future chapters, I swear! Sooooo…whatcha think? Review! C'mon, it's that nice button down there…bottom left…yeeeeeeeesssss…that's it. Now, be nice and click on that…riiiiiiiight. Now…type something nice…okay! Arigato!

Didja see anything wrong with the editing?****

**CATZ:** *looks innocently* uhm…does terrible writing count?

*sighs* no.****

**CATZ:** well…hmm…does…****

*bops her on the head* y'know what…there's this nice saying "if ya can't say anything nice…SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!"****

**CATZ:** what's yer problem? It's not like no one would say that eventually…

Yer not helping here…****

**CATZ:** *has this "what? What did I do?" look*

Hookay…ignore her. Anyway, as I've said…anything wrong? Kindly notify me…kay? qkslvr@email.com


	7. Sixth Part

**Disclaimer: **I'd love to say I own FY, but then people would start suing and then I'd run out of money, and then me and my mom would be sent out on the streets, and then we won't have anything to eat, and then we'd die of hunger and then…uh…you get the idea…^_^'

**Notes: **Okay, let's just say this would be a new shock to Hisaki…****

**PART SIX**

The door to Hisou's room opened with a loud 'bang!' Revealing an evidently-crossed Hisaki on the other side, "What the hell's wrong with ya, man?! You've been hiding in yer goddamn cave for forty-eight fuckin years!"

Hisou looked up from his cramped position in front of the computer, "Hey, 'Saki. Could you close the door? A bit gentler this time, please."

Hisaki stared pointedly at his best friend and very gently closed the door, guiding it all the way till he heard the *click* "What the hell's the matter, man? It's a weekend, ya hafta be outside, playin with yer goddamn playmates, but noooo ya hadta be here, cooped up in front of tha' goddamn monitor."

"I missed a lot of schoolwork last week, I have to catch up. Besides, I only have one paper to finish," Hisou said, a bit distracted. Hisaki stomped over to where he was sitting and peered over at the screen. Seeing nothing interesting, he just went over to the bed and plopped himself. "What's that for, anyway?"

"Lit."

"Lit? Ain't that the one yer supposed to submit last—AAAAAAHHHHHH!" he screeched, pointing accusing fingers at Hisou. Startled from the sudden outburst, Hisou turned to his best friend, "What?"

"Y-ya fuckin forgot to pass a paper?! You, fuckin Mr. I-only-get-straight-A's-thank-you?! I can't fuckin believe this…"

Hisou rolled his eyes, "Aw, 'Saki, get a life. Anyway, you're right, but things got in the way, what with Houki and the trips to the PD and stuff." He said and turned back to the screen.

Hisaki sat up from his position on the bed, "Oh yeah, where's the squirt anyway? Haven't seen her since she was stupid enough to get shot."

Hisou did a final check at his paper before clicking on the print button and filling the printer with paper, "In her room. Mom won't let her go out just yet. She's probably on the phone again, conveying her latest exploits to a classmate. You should hear her, she sounded like she just saved the world from total destruction or something," he said, chuckling.

Glancing up at the clock, Hisaki stood up and straightened his shirt, "I'm gonna go over there. And when I come back I HOPE yer done with that fuckin assignment! Honestly Hisou, ya never seem to give a rat's ass bout yer studies no more, that ain't fuckin good."

Hisou threw a pillow at him. He grinned.

As he was heading to the direction of Hisou and Houki's shared bathroom, grinning, when he passed by Hisou's study table. Notebooks, books, and other notes were strewn all over. From where he was standing, he could make out one with notes on one page, and sketches of a person on another.

Hisou was very good at drawing. When they were seven, their parents enrolled them to an art class, while Hisou got the highest marks, and most of his drawings on display, Hisaki did nothing but mess the place up, always initiating a paint war with the other kids.

He was about to touch the door handle, something registered. Was that…?

_Nah…it couldn't be._

_…could it?_

_…_

_No, it couldn't, right? I mean, it's just not possible. Besides…_

But, he knew what he saw. He may look like an idiot, but that doesn't mean that he is one. He knew what he saw, and he saw—

Hisaki slowly walked back to the desk, and looked closely at the notebook—

The sound of the chair falling brought him back to reality. He blinked at the person staring back at him. The next thing he knew, Hisou snatched the notebook, red-faced.

Hisaki looked at his best friend, all the while trying to digest what he had just seen.

They've known each other since they were young. In diapers, even. Their parents both came to the U.S. from Japan. They've been classmates since preschool. They've spent waaaay too many sleepovers than he can remember. They knew all about each other.

At least, that was what he thought.

He looked at Hisou, eyes wide, face red, mouth agape. He was pretty sure he looked just the same, surprised. Because that's just exactly how he feels.

No, not surprised. Angry, frustrated, disappointed, confused. Surprised wasn't even big enough to cover what he was feeling right now.

---

Hisou attempted to start a string of apologies, but all that came out of his mouth was a weak, " 'Saki…"

His best and oldest friend stared at him, disgust evidently imprinted on his face. He didn't know what to do. Hell, he didn't even know what to say.

He had wanted to tell Hisaki about it, he was just trying to come up with the courage to do so. He really wanted his best friend in the world to know about it, but not this way. He was supposed to tell him and face the consequences. But never, in his entire life, did he imagine Hisaki would find out about it this way.

He was as surprised when he found out himself. Who could accept something like this? This wasn't normal. It wasn't how things were supposed to be.

Hisaki and him told everything about each other. It was a pact they had since childhood. They'd tell each other about everything, even if it would hurt the other. It was a promise they kept.

Until now.

The biggest fear Hisou had about telling Hisaki about his situation was if he would disgust Hisaki. He didn't want that. He didn't want to lose his friend. Their friendship was more important than that.

_"It's not everyday you find someone who'll be your friend for life. Not even everyone gets that chance. You two, you were given that chance. Don't let it slip away."_ His mother told them when they were young.

_" 'Saki-chan, promise me. We'll tell each other everything!"_

_"Hai. And Hisou-chan, we'll be friends for life." _

_Children's laughter._

Seeing that Hisou had no plans of telling him what's going on, Hisaki straightened up, set his jaw and walked over to the door. He gave one final glance at his friend, face still held with the same anger.

Hisou was startled from his reverie when he heard Hisaki shift. He couldn't bear to look at the other's angry eyes, set jaw, and rigid posture. He didn't even turn when Hisaki walked around him, to his bedroom door.

But he flinched when he heard the door slam.

AN: Okay, guess what Hisaki found on the notebook. So…whatcha think? Good? Bad? Well, don't tell it to yourself, for Pete's sake, review!


	8. Seventh Part

**Disclaimer: **From here on, I'll stop writing those stupid disclaimers. I mean, after a prologue and six chapters, you'd get the idea. Plus, I'm running out of ideas, myself. ^_^;

**Notes: **Not much. Just…well, okay, this should be a warning. First off, those who are allergic to shounen-ai, please step away from this premises. Those who aren't…well, by all means, go ahead!****

**PART SEVEN**

Students crowded the hallway the moment the final bell rang. Loud chatter from every angle of the school could be heard.

Migoto Hisoume walked lazily among the crowd, ducking as occasional footballs were thrown over his head. It was a Tuesday. School was pretty much what he considered to be not so hectic.

As he was heading to his locker, he heard voices calling out his name. He looked from all directions, trying to locate the source of the voice. It sounded familiar, but he just couldn't quite place whom.

Suddenly, he felt excited, maybe it was Hisaki. It's been three days since he last spoken to his friend. It's been three days since his embarrassing sort-of-revelation. He leaned on his locker, waiting. The voices seemed to come closer, from the direction of the Boy's restroom. However, his bubble of excitement soon deflated when he saw who was calling him.

"Hey!" Aiji said, chirpy.

"Hi." He replied somberly.

Aiji looked at him for a while, face looking concerned. "Are you okay? You seem…quiet…more than usual."

Hisou just smiled, "I'm okay. Just stuff…"

"Oh," Aiji said quietly. Then, he went back to chirpy mood, "Oh, hey! Youshi and I were going to get some ice cream, wanna come with?"

Hisou's eyes lit up at the sound of the other boy's name. He liked Youshi, he was a nice guy, albeit intriguing, "Well, I've got nothing to do anyway, why not?"

The smaller boy smiled, then looked around, "Where's Hisaki? Isn't he with you?"

Hisou stiffened at the name, he still hadn't talked to his him to straighten things out. "Uhm…nope. Where's Youshi?"

"Oh, he's just putting things away, he'll be here in a moment," Aiji said, still smiling. Hisou realized maybe Aiji didn't notice his reaction when asked about Hisaki. Or if he did, he didn't let it show.

"Hey Aiji! Are we going?" Youshi said, appearing on Hisou's elbow. Hisou let out a surprised gasp, but recovered easily.

Aiji, noticing Hisou's surprise, chuckled, "Yep. Hisou's coming with us, is that okay?"

Youshi looked at the man beside him, surprised, "AH! Hisou! It's you! I thought it was someone else. Sure, you wanna come?"

Hisou smiled, "Okay, I'll just put this away…" he turned to open his locker door. The moment he turned away from the two, he can feel, more than see them giggling to themselves, looking at each other. Well, at least Aiji was giggling, Youshi just stood there, smiling, head bowed.

He knew he was missing something, but he figured it wasn't his business if they don't want to tell him. After putting all of his stuff away, he turned to the others, "I'm set. Is it okay if I bring the car?"

Aiji paused from his giggling and nodded.

They were heading out of the building and into the parking lot when Youshi nudged him, "Hey, isn't that Hisaki there?" he asked, pointing in the direction of the parking lot. He couldn't really see Hisaki's expression, he could just make out his position, leaning on the post, arms crossed. When they neared him, Hisou smiled, attempting reconciliation. He was about to ask Hisaki to come join them, when the red-haired man spoke up, "So, ya finally snagged him, huh?"

Youshi regarded the other man with confusion, "Uh…we were going to—"

"—get married? Have fifty fuckin babies? What?!"

Hisou just stood there, rendered immobile by what Hisaki was saying. Aiji kept quiet, but the confusion was as evident on his face as it was on Youshi. Youshi, despite being startled by what the other said, "What? Hisa—"

Hisaki sneered, shifting his position, "What? Oh…ya didn't know? Well, why dontcha just ask fuckin Migoto here, ne Hisou-chan?" he asked, almost mocking at the word '-chan.'

Youshi turned to Hisou, who was still planted to the ground, face a parody of emotions. "Hisou…what…"

Before Youshi could even think of asking any more questions, Hisou walked toward Hisaki and grabbed the other man by the arm, leading him into the parking lot, away from the other two.

When they were quite a ways from the other, Hisou spoke up, "What's your problem?!" he hissed.

Hisaki jerked his arm away from the taller man and spat, "You."

"What do you have against me? Did I do something wrong?" Hisou was trying his best to control himself. He clenched his fist and kept them on his side.

Hisaki saw the action and snorted, "What, ya gonna fuckin sock me in the face, too? And don't fuckin ask me what you did, you should know that!"

Hisou looked down, "I…I know. I'm sorry…I know…"

Hisaki interrupted him, "Of course you knew. Why the hell wouldn'tcha? I'm the only one in this fuckin universe who doesn't know. Does the fag out there know, too?"

Hisou's face hardened at the use of the word 'fag.' It may not be used on him, but still. No one deserves that kind of treatment. But, he kept this all to himself. He wouldn't want to sever their ties and farther. Hisaki was important to him. He was a friend. A real one. Sure, he can be tacky and rude sometimes, but at least he sticks by those he holds important.

_Well, he's not exactly sticking out for you now, is he?_

Hisou let out a breath. How can he make it known to Hisaki that this wasn't his conscious choice? That it was just who he is and he should accept him despite it? He sighed again, " 'Saki…I…I'm sorry…"

Again, Hisaki interrupted him, "Well, so am I…but sorry doesn't just cut it, pal." And walked away.

_Could it be?_

_That I was wrong, I was so wrong_

_When I realized and turned around and you were gone_

_If I say, I want you back_

_Would you turn around and say you want me, too?_

_If I say, I want you back_

_This time I really mean it_

AN: The italicized part at the end was an excerpt from Mandy Moore's Want You Back. I was listening to it while writing the whole parking lot scene. I dunno, I just thought it fit. ^_^


	9. Eighth Part

**Notes:** Not much…oh…warnings: this one's kinda sad. A bit tragic.

Arigatou to the reviewers!****

**PART EIGHT**

The library in their school was big it was almost intimidating. The moment one enters, rows and rows of mahogany shelves was the first thing that met the eyes. It looked so solemn. Youshi never liked studying in libraries, the whole atmosphere was too quiet, plus, the air-conditioning really made the place comfortable. Too comfortable actually, for Youshi's taste. It was more conducive for sleeping. He only went there now because he and Aiji had this project in history and he had some researching o do. He was supposed to meet Aiji there, but after seeing no sign of the other boy, he placed his stuff on the table and proceeded to search for books.

_The Great Depression…World War I…World War II…Dark…Ah, Colonizations of Spain and Portugal…_

As he was heading to his table, he caught sight of a familiar figure, hunched on one of the shelves. He approached the person and, indeed, it was familiar. Tucking the book under his arm, he covered the person's eyes, "Guess."

Hisou was startled to find small, warm hands covering his eyes. He wanted to thrash and tackle the other person, but remembered he was in the library. So, he merely touched the hands, feeling it, trying to know who the owner was. He reached out back, trying to grasp the other person's body.

Youshi scooted away when Hisou started waving his hands, but kept his hands firmly on the other boy's eyes. The book tucked under his arm fell at the movement, but he paid it no heed.  This was a once in a lifetime and he intended to enjoy it.

Hisou tried to reach farther, but the other person kept moving away, never letting go of his eyes. Then, when the owner of the hands went as far as his arms can reach, they both fell. Hisou on his back, the other still had his eyes on hostage. He heard a giggle. He couldn't help but chuckle at the sound.

He tried to sharpen his hearing but totally focused on finding out who the giggler was, he failed to hear the sound of footsteps that headed his way. Youshi, on the other hand, heard it. In one swift move, he removed his hands from Hisou's eyes and pulled the taller man to the other side of the shelf. He giggled to himself. He looked at Hisou, who was still trying to get used to having his eyes back in action again. Hisou turned to him, about to say something, but Youshi clamped his hand over the other's mouth.

The footsteps stopped on the other side of the shelf they were hiding on, Youshi kept his hand on Hisou's mouth peering from side to side. He could he the rustle of cloth, while indicated that the person was bending down, probably to pick up the book he left.

Hisou regarded him with confused eyes. Youshi, realizing that his hand was still on Hisou's mouth, quickly removed it and bowed. When they heard the footsteps going the other direction, Youshi stood up, reaching a hand to help Hisou up. "Sorry," he said, still smiling.

The both straightened their uniforms, and looked at each other. They let out a sigh of relief at the same time and chuckled. "S'okay," Hisou said, smiling.

When they were both recovered, they headed to Youshi's table. "What are you doing here?" Hisou asked, placing his books on the table.

Youshi shrugged, "History project. All about Spain and Portugal's conquests. Oh!" he said, realizing something.

"What?"

Youshi smiled, albeit disappointed, "The librarian got the book I was supposed to research. Aiji's going to kill me!"

Hisou chuckled. "Well, that's what you get for attacking unprepared victims."

Youshi stuck out his tongue. "Well, since I'm out of research materials, I might as well just do homework," he got his notebook and a book out of the bag.

They studied for about three hours. Hisou doing some research, Youshi homework. They almost didn't notice how long time passed, if the librarian didn't approach them, "Boys, I know you're deeply immersed with studying. Unfortunately, the library's closing. You should get going," she said smiling.

Hisou glanced at his wristwatch, Youshi doing the same. It was 5:30 already. They gathered their stuff and headed out.

As they got out of the building, Youshi turned to Hisou, "Would you care to join me for dinner? I'm not used to eating out alone."

~*~

They were sitting in front of each other, sipping on their drinks. Youshi was looking at Hisou, studying his face. Hisou, never really comfortable with people looking at him openly, looked up and asked, quizzically, "What?'

Youshi laughed, clearly embarrassed, "Nothing. Just thinking…"

"Oh…"

"Hisou…" Youshi started, a bit hesitant.

Hisou looked up from his salad, "Yes?"

"Uhm…can I ask you something?" Youshi was nervous, and it was obvious. From the fiddling with his napkin, it kinda gave the emotion away. Hisou smiled, trying to ease the tension, "Okay."

"Uh…last Tuesday…Hisaki said…uh…I was just…what…"

Hisou knew where this was heading, but he himself couldn't face the subject just yet. He was about to dismiss the subject when Youshi continued, "What he was saying about…'getting married'…what was that about?"

He was about to tell him that Hisaki was just being a jerk, but he saw the expression written on Youshi's face: curiosity, embarrassment, with a little touch of fear. He began, "Oh, that…it…well…I…" he was stuttering again. Just like how he was last Saturday. He breathed deeply, then smiled, "Uhm…can we please not talk about this just yet? I…I promise I'll tell you soon, but…" was what was supposed to come out of his mouth, but instead, "I don't think we should talk about that here…would you like to drive somewhere?" was what came out.

They drove around for a while before they reached the park. It wasn't exactly the 'perfect place' for Hisou, but he can't take any more of the uneasy silence that reigned the car. They got out and headed for the swings.

They just sat there for a while, Hisou trying to summon the confidence to just say it, Youshi trying to gather his reins on reality, he felt something important was up.

Hisou cleared his throat, Youshi looked at him. "I…well…when I…do you remember the first time we bumped into each other?"

Youshi looked at him confused, "Yyyyyyeeees."

_It's now or never, Migoto_.

"Well, when I…when I first saw you, I felt this weird pulling thing. I thought it was just out of curiosity, but then, I found myself thinking of you more and more…" He desperately wanted to look at Youshi's reactions, but he was afraid. Youshi might end up disgusted with him, the way Hisaki was. But, he had to say it, otherwise, he'd burst. He continued, "Last…last Saturday, Hisaki saw my notebook…it had…sketches…of you."

The last two words were said so softly; Youshi didn't know if he heard it right. He turned wide eyes at Hisou. _He…he liked me…?_

_…_

_…wait._

_Hisou's gay?_

He was busy trying to digest the recent revelation, he didn't see Hisou look at him, or his stricken expression. But, he felt more than heard when Hisou let out a strangled gasp and got out of the swing, running.

Youshi stared at Hisou's retreating form, himself firmly planted on his swing.

_I should go after him…_

_…but…_

_…he liked me?_

When he realized he was alone, he tried to follow Hisou, heading in the direction the taller man went. He was peering down the road the other went. It was dark now; it wouldn't do to have two people lost in the city. Besides, he doesn't know enough of the place to be assured he'd be able to go back in one piece. So instead, he went in the direction of the car. Hisou won't go home without it.

Besides, they both needed time to think.

---

Hisou ran. He didn't know where he was heading. All he knew was he was running. He was trying to get away. Away from Youshi's disgust, Hisaki's disgust, and the idea of being a failure to his parents.

For years, he fought with the idea of being gay. At first, he thought it was normal. He read of kids having a time of confusion. He thought it would come to pass.

Then, he turned fifteen. They just had a new neighbor. He and his family moved in a week after his birthday. He was tall, slim, kind eyes and an easy smile. He was older so Hisou thought it was just a case of admiration. He tried to focus on girls. He went out with as much as he can. Unfortunately, he found out, he can only go out with three.

He didn't know who to turn to. He can't talk to his mother and sister, much less his dad. He was the only boy. The heir to the business, the one to continue the family line. He can't be gay.

He couldn't tell Hisaki about it. Look where it got him now.

And now, he tried to tell the man who had been occupying his mind for the longest time, and he gets rejected.

He continued running. He was on the verge of passing out. Water trickled on his face, whether it was sweat of tears, he can't tell.

He tried to make out his current location, but before any form of recognition reached him, he fell.

---

Youshi had been waiting for almost an hour and a half. He's really starting to get worried. He almost called the police, but what would he tell them? _Officer, I'm looking for my friend. He just professed his love for me, but alas, due to my lack of reaction, he ran off. Could you find him?_

He was looking around frantically. He went back to the swings to check if Hisou went back there. No.

He checked other parts of the park, still no sign of Hisou.

He was about to go back to the car when he saw a figure, lying facedown on the other side of the street. His heart pounded in his ears. Starting to really panic, he rushed to the other side. He almost fainted at the sight that appeared before him.

There, lying prone on the sidewalk was Hisou. Panting heavily, but seeming unconscious.

AN: AAAAAHHHHH!!!! Poor Hisou! What did I do? First his best friend, and now Youshi!!!! What the hell possessed me to write this?!

*sinffle* so…what do you think? Will Youshi accept Hisou's feelings? Will they get together and run off into the sunset? Would I ever be a good writer? Would people review? Would I shut up?

**Hisou: ***gets up from the street and whacks author in the head* SHUT UP!!!

**Q: **ahhhhh itai….


	10. Ninth Part

**Notes: **My god, what did I do to Hisou? Anyway, here's the next part.****

**PART NINE**

There was a light. So bright that it obstructed hi vision, making everything seem white. He squinted his eyes, trying to find out where he was. It was quiet, not even a single soul in sight. He blinked again, trying to adjust to the bright light.

He was lying on something soft, of that he was certain. The rest however, was a blur. He couldn't even remember why he was there and how he got there. He tried to crane his head sideways, looking around the seemingly all-white place__

_No wait…it IS all white_

but not quite succeeding.__

_Am…am I dead?_

_Why can't I move my neck?_

He tried to move his hands to his neck, feeling a cloth wrapped around it.

"Welcome back."

He tried to move his neck to the direction of the sound.

"Don't try to strain yourself too much, you seemed to have had a rough day."

That voice. He knew that voice.

Footsteps were coming in his direction and then there was a face above his, a familiar one. "Dr. Shitsuren?" he croaked.

Dr. Anrui Shitsuren, MD smiled, "Well, so glad you remember me," he looked at the record he held in his hands, "Mr. Hisoume Migoto."

Dr. Shitsuren looked at his X-ray results, "Hmm, seems to me you don't have any injury, how are you feeling?"

Hisou tried to feel his body, clenching and unclenching his hands, moving different parts of his body, wincing at some swollen muscles, "I've had better days, I guess. But, I'm fine. How did I…?"

"Get here? A friend of yours sent you here; he was with you the last time. He said you fell on the street," Dr. Shitsuren said, managing to remove the brace on Hisou's neck.

Hisou laid back and relaxed. That's right, he was running, trying to get away, then he spotted something. But, before he can even reach it, he fell. Now he remembered. But wait, who was he running from? He was trying to get away…from what?__

_Youshi._

He closed his eyes and covered his hands over them. He made a complete fool of himself tonight. He remembered that.

Confessing love…to a boy? What the hell were you thinking? 

The sound of Dr. Shitsuren clearing his throat and speaking in a soft but incredibly deep voice brought him back to the present, "Your parents have been called. They should be here in a while."

He looked at the doctor, "How long was I out?"

Dr. Shitsuren looked up from what he was writing on the patient's record, "About four hours. It's nothing serious really, just over exhaustion. You were a bit cyanotic when you came in." When he saw the blank look Hisou gave him, he opted to explain, "You were lacking oxygen. But, you're fine now."

Hisou gave the doctor an appreciative smile.

"Oh! Hisou, baby! Are you okay? What happened to you?!"

Both Hisou and Dr. Shitsuren turned to the door, which was opened hastily, slamming to the wall, to see Hisou's parents. His mom, near frantic and his dad, calm and composed, but panic could still be seen in his eyes. He was probably just trying to keep his calm for Megumi's sake.

He smiled at his parents, about to say that he was okay and that they shouldn't worry, but Dr. Shitsuren beat him to it, "He's fine. Just exhausted, probably from stress."

Mr. and Mrs. Migoto looked at him thankfully for a moment, then turned to their son with worried eyes. Anrui blinked. For some strange reason, he just had the urge to cover up for the kid. He had never done this before, cover up for anyone. Judging the boy, he really doesn't look like the type to get into trouble much, but what happened tonight wasn't exactly a parent's dream. Although, he must admit, he had no idea what exactly happened. As a doctor, he has to remain as impersonal as possible so as to be able to make objective decisions. He didn't know why, but he just feels some strange connection to this kid. Come to think of it, even to his friends.

~*~

Megumi closed the front door as Mr. Migoto supported Hisou, leading him to the bedroom.

"Mom, Dad, I'm fine. I was just tired, nothing serious," Hisou said for about the eleven billionth time since they left the hospital.

"Nonsense," Megumi said, "You were tired enough to be taken to the hospital. I told you to lay low on the extra work, but you never listen!"

Hisou let out an exasperated breath. At eighteen years, he knew by now not to argue with his mom when she's worried. His mind once again trailed back to Youshi. He didn't accept him, but at least he sent him to the hospital. At least Hisou thinks he did. There were only two other people who were with him during Houki's accident. Hisaki was mad at him, Aiji's probably at home buried in books. So, that only leaves Youshi.

_I should thank him. I owe him that, at least._

They entered his room to see Houki sitting on the edge of the bed, expression torn between worry, relief and anger at seeing them. Hisou in particular.

"Idiot! What, ya got jealous and wanted to be in the hospital, too?"

Mr. Migoto spoke up, "Houki, I suggest we do the telling off later. Why don't you fix that bed for your brother?"

Houki did, after which his father set him down. Despite his strong protests and heavy blushes, his mother insisted on washing him—or at least just wiping his back—and dressing him for bed. Afterwards, their parents left with kisses and goodnights, leaving the two in the room.

As the door closed, Houki turned to him, "So, howr'ya?"

He smiled, "M'okay, just tired is all." He yawned.

She laughed and kissed him on the forehead, patting his hair, "Well, best be sleeping now, huh?" She stood off the bed. "Oh yeah, those came for you earlier," she said, pointing to a bouquet of flowers on his nightstand.

Hisou looked at it skeptically, then turned back to Houki, "Yeah? From who?"

She shrugged, "Dunno. It was left on the door. Kinda like in Problem Child. Has a card, though."

Now, Hisou looked at HER skeptically, "Hey! Don't look at me like that, I didn't read it, I swear!" she laughed, backing away into the bathroom they shared. "Nyt!"

"G'night." He eyed the flowers with the card, debating on whether to open it or not. Slowly, he picked up the card. The envelope was red; he opened it and found a piece of paper.

Creasing his brows in confusion, he set the envelope on his lap and unfolded the piece of paper. It was paper, all right

_…notebook paper…_

And in it was a sketch

_…of me_

Below it was a phrase, written in neat Japanese characters: kiwotsukete.

_Take care._

AN: The note with the sketch, it was supposed to be 'get well' but I didn't find the translation for that so, I just settled for this.


	11. Tenth Part

**Notes: **Oh hey! We have a Messenger! Sugoi, ne? those who haven't tried it should…it's really cool, you can chat with other authors and coax them into reading your work and make them review! Hehe

Oh! And I have two pages of reviews! Hehe. Sorry, I just didn't expect to get any more than five for this story. I was afraid I might end up discontinuing it AGAIN. But, since I got more than I expect…THANK YOU sooooo much to everyone! *hands out choco pockys*****

**PART TEN**

The hallway was filled with students when the fourth period bell rang. Students could be seen standing by their lockers, gathered around the stairs, 

Youshi tried to fight his way around the crowd, eager to put food in his stomach. He hadn't eaten a thing since that morning because he was trying to finish his movie report on Secret Garden for English. It had taken him almost all night to put the exact thoughts on paper, ergo his inability to have breakfast.

When he finally got his food and paid for it, the problem at hand would be to find a table to sit on. He looked around finding none, all the tables were packed. As he was about to give up and settle for eating outside, he saw someone waving madly in his direction. He made a second take to make sure he was actually seeing it or it was just a mirage caused by his hunger.

There, across the room, at the other end, he saw Aiji, waving at him, signaling him to come sit with them.__

_Them? Oh…that means…_

Realizing this, he wasn't sure if he was supposed to go or just pretend he didn't notice the other guy. However, he was stupid enough to take another look at the direction of the table.

"HEY YOUSHI! C'MON!"

He wanted to ignore him, he really did. Hisou might be there__

_Baka! Of COURSE, Hisou would be there_

and things would still be awkward with them. Besides, Aiji might want to know what happened. But, his stomach took that time to voice its protest. Finally deciding on heading in the direction of Aiji's table__

_HISOU'S table_

and berating himself all the way, he did just so to find Hisou absent.__

_Huh? Doko wa…? Shimata…_

"What took you so long? I was losing my voice already!"

He smiled at the smaller boy, before ravaging his lunch. Aiji looked in awe at his ability to eat so many so fast. When he finished, he slowly wiped his mouth and took a huge gulp out of his orange juice before looking at Aiji, "Nani?"

"Y-you…how can you eat that mu—fast?"

He laughed, "No breakfast," he said, burping. He looked around, pretending to just notice Hisou's absence. "Where's Hisou?"

A flicker of something shined in Aiji's eyes, "He's in the library, researching. I heard you two went out the other day?"

Youshi tried to kill the rising blush from his cheeks, "What? Oh that…"

Aiji smirked, nudging him across the table, "Yeeees that. Soooo, what happened?"

He feigned surprise, "Why Migawara Aiji, I didn't know you were into gossip!"

Aiji stuck out his tongue, "Well, on a normal basis, I'm not. But this is a special case…sooo…you gonna tell or do I have to force it outta you?"

Youshi smiled, "Nothing happened. We just met at—" sudden realization dawned on him, he pointed accusing fingers at the smirking Aiji. "You set us up! You did it, didn't you?!"

Aiji crossed his arms, "I did NOT. I merely pushed you in the right direction."

"Well, the right direction wasn't exactly the best one."

Aiji looked puzzled, "Why? What really happened?"

"Well—" as Youshi was about to explain, the fifth period bell rang. Sighing in relief, he grabbed his bag and stood up. He was about to walk away when Aiji grabbed his arm, "You will tell me EVERYTHING later."

~*~

Hisou drew a deep breath. He had been reading for two periods already, and still he's on the same page he was in since he started. He couldn't seem to focus on anything lately. He grabbed his bag and took out a piece of paper, neatly folded in four. Carefully unfolding it, he stared at the sketch with Japanese writing on the bottom.__

_Take care…_

_…take care_

_Take care._

His image stared back at him. He was really beautiful. No one can deny that and still be considered sane. With his long flowing hair, gentle eyes, delicate nose and his soft red lips, he was the epitome of beauty. The depiction of his face wasn't exactly what he'd call perfect, but it did him justice. When he was young, he had a feminine beauty about him, but as he was growing, the girlish look which he thought would be gone by then, remained, but now there's a masculinity about his looks. Even that was shown in the simple sketch. Whoever did this was an excellent artist.__

_Youshi_

Only one person knew of what happened to him that night. Well, at least only one besides his family. Then again, Houki might have told Hisaki about it__

_But Hisaki's not like this. He'd say it's too cheesy_

However he wanted it to be Youshi, he still can't take his mind off Youshi's reaction when he told him about his feelings.__

_Argh Hisou! Stop it!_

But, Youshi was the only one he knew who spoke and write Japanese so smoothly__

_That's cause he is, genius!_

even if Hisaki has Japanese in his blood, he still couldn't care less about it. There's also Aiji, but he didn't know what happened.__

_See? You only have Youshi left_

_Shut up!_

_What? Why don't you just admit it, Youshi gave it to you…it must mean something!_

_…what?_

_Well, duh! He likes you!_

His eyes snapped open at his recent conclusion. Maybe that's it. He told Youshi that he draws pictures of him on his notebook and the sketch was Youshi's way of saying he like him, too! But, what if Youshi was just saying sorry, the sketch doesn't mean anything.__

_Okay, be that as it may…but why a sketch? Why not just settle for the flowers and a simple card?_

He shook his head. He didn't know. Besides, what if he's wrong again. Just like how wrong he is about deciding to tell Youshi how he feels. Just like how wrong he is about leaving his notebook wide open for Hisaki to see.__

_Ah, what are you so worried about? He hasn't rejected you outright, has he?_

Once again, he shook his head. Carefully, he folded the paper and placed it back inside his bag. That's why he won't approach Youshi about this. He's afraid of being rejected outright. He might not be able to take it.

~*~

"Okay, spill."

They were inside Youshi's dorm room, Aiji slumped on the chair, Youshi sprawled across the bed. Youshi looked at him innocently, "Spill? What's to spill?"

Aiji let out a deep breath, "Look, I didn't pause from studying and come here so you'd just waste my time. Now, tell me what happened."

Youshi stared at the smaller boy. People often underestimate Aiji, but when he wants to sound intimidating and commanding, he can very well do it. And now was the time.

He took a deep breath and moved to sit on the bed, "Okay, what do you want to know?"

Aiji smiled. _Finally, _"What happened? Everything?"

"Okay, we met at the library, which, I assume what you intended to happen," he looked pointedly at Aiji, "Anyway, we stayed there until closing. I asked him to join me for dinner." At Aiji's wide eyes, he waved his hands, laughing, "Noooo!!!! Nothing weird, I just asked him if he'd eat dinner with me!"

Aiji lifted an eyebrow, "Like a date?"

Youshi rolled his eyes, "No, not like a date. Like dinner. An ordinary one, you know, like what normal people do in the evening? Anyway, while we were eating, I remembered what Hisaki said last Tuesday. You know, at the parking lot. Anyway, he said we should talk about it somewhere else…" Once again, Aiji's eyes widened, his mouth hanging open. He knew what that reaction meant, so he hurled a pillow at the gaping boy, "OI HENTAI! WE went to a PARK!"

Aiji was regarding him skeptically, "Rrrreallyyy…a park."

"Yes, a park. Can I finish my story here? Anyway, we went to the park, to TALK. And then he…uh…he…we talked."

Aiji craned his head, hanging onto Youshi's every word, "You talked…?"

A faint blush could be seen on Youshi's cheeks, "Yes. We talked. And then we went home."

Aiji's brows furrowed, "That's it? You talked and you went home? Did he drive you home?" he asked, smiling, a flicker of excitement shining in his eyes.

"He…uh…no."

"No? NO? Why didn't he?" Aiji asked, evidently crossed.

"Well…he…hey! Why do you seem so excited about what happened?"

Aiji straightened up, clutching the pillow thrown at him earlier close, and looked at Youshi's irritated expression, "I'm your friend. I'm just concerned with you. I want you to be happy…" he smiled, picture of innocence.

Youshi snorted, "Hai, hai…"

"…well? What did you guys talk about?"

Youshi looked at Aiji's expectant face. How can he tell him that Hisou told him his feelings and after an eternity and a half, his lack of reaction drove the other guy away? How can he tell him that the night ended with him sending Hisou to the hospital?

"Well?"

Youshi fidgeted, as much as he wanted to hide it, he just can't. "Well…he…uhm…hetoldmehelovesme," he said, in a whisper.

Aiji strained to hear, "Whaaaaat????"

Youshi looked at him, blushing furiously, "I said…hetoldmehelovesme," he said, still as fast, but a bit louder.

Aiji's eyes widen to an immeasurable circumference when he heard, "He WHAT?!"

Youshi, still blushing, rolled his eyes, "Don't make me repeat it."

"He said that? What did you say?" Aiji asked, eyes still wide.

"I…nothing…"

Hearing this, Aiji got up from the couch and stomped over to Youshi on the bed, "You WHAT?! WHY?"

Youshi looked up at his menacing face, "I…well…I'm not exactly sure how to react to people who profess their love for me. doesn't happen everyday, you know." he said, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

"Well, what did he do?"

"He ran."

"He RAN?"

"Oh cool, echo effect. Yes he ran…one more time!" Youshi said, desperate at avoiding talking about this topic any further.

Aiji looked at him sternly, "Okay. So he ran, then?"

"Well…he…fainted…then I sent him to the hospital."

Aiji was about to repeat what Youshi said once again, but he decided against it. Instead, he rubbed at his temples.

This conversation is giving him nothing but headaches.

AN: When I was in 2nd year, I think, our teacher asked us to make a movie review on Secret Garden, but she wasn't able to show the whole movie…and I was absent when they saw the first part…so that didn't leave me with anything to review. So, me and my classmates, thinking that we're supposed to finish the story in order to review it, did a half movie and half book report. Heh, teacher got mad. ^^;; oh, and did I mention I totally copied and rephrased mine from Barron's Booknotes™? Hehe

Okay…so, whatcha think? Does Youshi feel the same? Is Hisou planning to frame that sketch of his? Well, then again…it was a really good sketch.****

**Youshi: **Hey author, here. *hands her 5 bucks*****

**Q: **Wha…? Five dollars? FIVE LOUSY DOLLARS? I worked my ass on the sketch, and all I get is five bucks?****

**Youshi: **Yeah, you complaining?****

**Q: **Oh, of course not…after all, I can always write you in a slash fic with…hmm…lemme see…Ashitare, maybe? Oh no…Miboshi!****

**Nuriko: ***Freezes, eyes widen, jaws fall to the ground*****

**Q: **Why, you complaining?****

**Nuriko: **Just give it to her.****

**Youshi: **What? YOU give her money!****

**Nuriko: **Do YOU wanna be in a fic with Miboshi?****

**Youshi: **Wha…I…fine. Here. *Throws wallet at author*****

**Q: ***glomps Nuriko and Youshi* WAAH!!! ARIGATOU!!!

Ø_Ø


	12. Eleventh Part

**Notes: **Sorry it took so long. To be honest, I really have no idea how I'm gonna fix this thing with Hisou and Hisaki. Actually, this is chapter 11: reposted *dundundunduuuunn* I didn't like the first one much, so…****

**PART ELEVEN**

Hisou opened the door to the kitchen.

"Oh good! You got everything?"

Before he could answer, he was relieved from his load by him mom. But his relief didn't last long for soon he was attacked with orders, "Okay, get those tomatoes and chop them. Do these, too." She handed him a bowl of potatoes and went on with her work.

"What are you gonna do? Feed all the hungry people all over Africa?"

Megumi looked at him, "Funny. But just so you know, we're having guests over for dinner."

Hisou looked at the potatoes and tomatoes in front of him, "Who? Three provinces in China?"

"Funny again. You know what, I might just laugh, but I have tons of things to do. Now get to work and Hisou, try not to make a mess of things, okay? I'm in trouble as it is."

Hisou picked up the knife and started copping the tomatoes, "But seriously, who's coming over? I didn't know we're having guests over."

"It's…a secret. You'll know later. For the meantime, do that." She looked at Houki, sitting on the table (okay, maybe not ON the table, but you know what I mean ^_^;;) "You'd have to do that reading somewhere else, Houki. Unless you wanna help…"

Houki looked up from her book, in the middle of chomping down a burger, "Huh? Oh, no thanks! I'll move to the den."

"Mom, can I change first? I feel dirty…" Hisou said, putting down the knife and walked over to the stairs before Megumi could say anything else.

Houki book marked her page and laid the book on the tabletop. She'd been reading for almost three hours already. Stretching, she stood up and walked over to her mom, helping her put away some of the groceries. As she was putting some napkins in the cupboard, her mom turned to her, "Have you noticed how quiet Hisou has been lately?"

Houki closed the cupboard and turned to her, brows scrunched in curiosity, "Quiet?"

Megumi stopped what she was doing and leaned on the counter, "Yeah. He's not as talkative as usual. He hasn't been since last Saturday. Have any idea?"

Houki also stopped what she was doing and leaned by the fridge, thinking, "No. Not really. You think he has a problem?"

"I don't know. Also," Megumi walked over to Houki and lowered her voice, whispering, "have you noticed Hisaki hasn't dropped by lately?"

Houki laughed, sometimes her mom could be such a gossip. Leaning closer to her mom, she also whispered, in the same conspiratory tone her mom used, "No, I didn't notice that. I was busy recuperating remember? Why, do you think they fought?"

Megumi blinked. She didn't know if Houki shared her curiosity or was just teasing her. Houki, the embodiment of curiosity, stared back at her, eyes wide, head darting back and forth between her and the stairs, watching out for Hisou in case he came back. She blinked again, realizing that Houki was, in fact, teasing her. "You're of no use. Go ahead, read that book and get out of my kitchen."

Houki giggled and walked to the table to pick up her book. As she was walking to the den, she called out, "Tell me if anything comes up."

Megumi shook her head and smiled. Sometimes she doesn't know where Houki takes after. She's not a gossiper like her, and neither was she a close observer like her dad. Checking the clock, she resumed working. Dinner's in two hours.

---

Hisou plopped down on his bed, closing his eyes._ Argh, I'm so tired._ He helped his mom prepare dinner almost all afternoon and was given time to rest just now. He must've stayed like that for some time because he heard his mom calling from downstairs. "Hisou, are you ready? They're starting to arrive," then, her voice became softer, "Houki, call your brother. Tell him we'll start with dinner."

He heard Houki mumble acquiescence and then footsteps were headed in his direction. He stood up from bed and went to the bathroom.

"Hey, you here? Mom said to go down. Ayame and the others just arrived."

He called out from the bathroom, "Yeah, I'm coming down."

He splashed his face with water and started to lather soap on his cheeks when he stopped,_ Ayame…?_

It was then that realization hit him. If Ayame's here, then…

Quickly washing his face, he grabbed the towel and dried himself fast._ If Ayame's here, then… _Quickly, he went out of his door and went down the stairs. The moment he opened the door, he could hear voices coming from the den, laughing._ No, no, no… _he thought.

"Let's move this to the dining room, what do you say?" He could hear his father say.

When he arrived at the dining room, he stopped short, lingering on the door.

"HI, honey, nice of you to join us. C'mon sit."

There was a woman, in her late forties sitting on his mother's left side, "Hello Hisou. How have you been? I haven't seen you in a while."

Trying his best to smile and not look like he was forcing it, he answered, "I'm fine, Mrs. Jinsoku. Thank you."

---

Dinner was…awkward, to say the least. They were sitting around the dining table with a tension so thick; you can cut it with a knife. His father sat at the head of the table, studiously chewing quietly on his salad, as if one wrong chew would change the whole world, he was on his father's left, himself quiet, Houki to his left, trying to make small talk with him and Hisaki, but obviously failing miserably, Hisaki to Houki's left, and from what he can see, he looked like he just swallowed a poisonous frog. He sighed. This is not going well. He looked across from him to his mother, seated at his dad's right. She and Mrs. Jinsoku were amidst some incessant chatter that they hardly noticed anything wrong.

Everything was wrong. From the seating to the whole atmosphere. Normally, when Hisaki stays over for dinner, Houki would move to sit beside his mom so him and Hisaki would sit together, it's always been like that. And when Mrs. Jinsoku would also come over, she'd sit with his mom, Houki would sit on his side, but Hisaki was still beside him. He always was, wherever they eat. Okay, so nothing was very wrong about the seating, but there shouldn't be this much tension around the table.

"So Hisou-chan, how's school?"

He was startled from his reverie by the voice of Hisaki's mom. "It's okay."

At least he managed to smile.

"How come you haven't dropped by the house in a while?"

He almost choked on his meatloaf._ Like mother like son. Now I'm certain where Hisaki got his impeccable tact._

"He's been busy with school. And so was Hisaki, I believe."

He looked at his mom and she winked at him. Then, he turned his eyes to Hisaki, who was blushing furiously and it seemed like the frog he swallowed was even bigger than before. If this goes on longer, he'd die right there. Or Hisaki would, whoever does first.

Dinner lasted an hour and a half. Needless to say, Hisou just wished that he actually did die. 

---

After dinner, he, Houki and Hisaki were in charge of clearing up the table and taking care of the dishes, like they always were while the adults moved into the den to talk more over coffee. And like in the table, tension was present in the kitchen as well.

Houki felt suffocated.

"Guys, you do the dishes, I'll clean the table."

Panic immediately took hold of both Hisou and Hisaki's face, but before any of them could interject, she was out of there with a rug. They both stood there for a while, looking at anything but each other.

"Rinse the dishes well!" Houki said from the other room. This startled them back to working on their task. At the same time, they moved to grab the same plate, but stopped short. Hisou looked at Hisaki and smiled, before picking up a glass and proceeding to wash it. They went on like this the whole time.

When they finished, they looked around, trying to see if anything else needs to be cleaned. Seeing none, Hisou dried his hands with a rug, while Hisaki dried his with a paper towel. After doing so, Hisou bolted out of the kitchen and passed by Houki saying he'll go up to his room if anyone needs him. Houki looked to his brother's retreating form and the closed kitchen door. She knew Hisaki was still there. She knew they definitely had something. And she knew that whatever it was, it's still not fixed and doesn't seem to be fixing itself.

She walked in the kitchen to find Hisaki leaning on the counter, still drying his hands. "Hey."

"Hey."

"So…uhm…oh hey! I have a new game upstairs! Wanna play?"

"Naw, I'm tired."

Houki blinked. Hisaki, tired for a video game? Hisaki no swearing?

"Oh…I have this Chemistry homework that I can't seem to understand, can you help me with it?"

"I ain't good with Chemistry."

"Hm…" Well, there's really nothing Houki can say about that, he's actually saying the truth. But by now, she's getting really desperate to just take Hisaki up and maybe coax him to talk to her brother so they can fix this thing. They maybe getting used to this, but she sure as hell wasn't. She missed hanging out with Hisaki, damnit!

"Dya…just wanna come up to my room?"

Hisaki looked at him. She's trying to help him and Hisou fix things, he knows it. He'd have to be some kind of stupid not to notice that. He really should just say no, but with him giving those looks, there's pretty much nothing he can do to disagree. Well, he really can't do anything to disagree to Houki with anything in the first place, googy eyes or no. "Fine."

Houki smiled, at last. Now, the next thing would be to get him and Hisou to talk.

They went upstairs to Houki's room. Hisaki sat on the bed and Houki went to the closet, rummaging. Actually, she was just stalling. She hadn't thought this far, yet.

"Damn! I think I'm losing something. Can you wait here for a while?" With that, she went out the door, leaving Hisaki staring at her back.

Houki closed the door to her room, grinning. Now to the next part of the plan. She waited for a while, walking over to the stairs. After a efw seconds or so, she came back up, making as much noise with her feet as possible and opened the door to Hisou's room. "Hey, have you seen my sweater? I can't find it anywhere!"

Hisou looked up from his book to his sister by the door, "No. Have you checked your closet?"

Houki gave him a duh-ya-think?! Look and proceeded to walk in. "I looked EVERYWHERE! And I can't find it! Help me!"

Hisou put the book down, marking his page, "You don't have to be so worked up about it. Stop looking and it'll turn up sometime."

Houki looked at him, agape. "Hisouuuuu, that's my favorite sweatshirt! Mom gave it to me on my birthday! I have to find it!"

Hisou sat up, "Fine. What can I do?"

Houki's smile stretched so wide, her face looked…well, stretched. She walked over to Hisou's bed and grabbed his hand, pulling him to her room. When they entered the room, he saw Hisaki sitting on the bed, shock written all over his face, as he was sure was the same case with him. He knew what Houki was doing, she's trying to help him and Hisaki. Truly, he wanted things to be fixed between him and his best friend as much as Houki does, but there's nothing he can do about it.

Houki knew how they were both feeling, their reaction told her as much. Letting go of Hisou's hand, she walked back to the door, "Okay, you look for it here, I'll look for it in the other rooms, kay?" And then she left.

For the second time that night, Hisou and Hisaki were in uncomfortable silence. Hisaki sitting on the bed, Hisou standing by the door. Hisou smiled, "Well, we better look for it, huh?"

Hisaki didn't know what to do. There's no need to keep up the pretense that he was mad. Well, he really was before, but it kinda lost its groove over the week. Now he had no idea how to approach Hisou, "Hi—"

"Hi—"

They stopped and smiled uncomfortably at each other. Hisou fidgeted, Hisaki looked at the ground. Finally, not being able to take anymore of this, Hisou started, "Hisaki…I know you're not comfortable with me, and frankly I don't blame you. You don't have to be here, you know. I'll…I'll just look for Houki's sweatshirt on my own. You can go downstairs and…" he smiled.

Hisaki looked up, "Naw, man…'sokay, I'll look for it with ya. Not like there's any fuckin thing I can do downstairs, with yer mom and mine talkin about shit…"

Hisou laughed despite himself. He knew how long it takes for Akemi and his mom to talk. Running out of words to say, they returned to their uncomfortable positions.

Behind the door, Houki sighed.

They both heard it and looked at the closed door. "It's not fuckin missing." Hisaki said.

Hisou shook his head, smiling. Then, his expression turned serious, "But she's right, you know."

Hisaki looked up at him, "Huh?"

"She's right. We should stop this. This is stupid."

"Yeah, it is."

"So…are we friends?"

"Yeah, man. But…can you tell me this? Why'd ya hafta hide it from me?"

Hisou flinched, he knew they can't go back to normal without having this talk. "I…uhm…I was afraid…you'd…"

But Hisaki cut him off, "Afraid of what? That I'd turn my back on ya? Man, you know me better than this. I'd never turn my back on ya, never."

Now, Hisou felt ashamed, "I…I know. I just got scared, that's all."

"Of what?"

"Of…of being different, of being a disappointment, of…of…being…"

"Gay?"

Hisou smiled, "Yeah."

"Wut the hell for?! Yer not different, yer cool, yer smart, yer goodlooking, yer every fuckin girl's dream…and a handful of guys, too, that I'd be willin ta name." Hisaki grinned.

Hisou's eyes widened at that. "What? You think some guys like me?"

"I know," Hisaki said, luxuriously stretching on the bed.

"Yeah? Who?"

Hisaki looked at him with wide eyes, "Dude! You really are gay, aren't you?!"

Hisou's smile faltered a bit at this comment, he knew Hisaki didn't mean anything by it, but it still stung in places. Hisaki, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice the effect of his words and continued talking, "Well, ya know that guy in soccer? The one with blond hair, blue eyes, the works? Well, I saw 'im checkin ya out when ya walked pass him."

Hisou stared at him, flushed, "He did NOT!"

"Yeah, man. And then there's this guy, the one we saw at the library before. The one who helped ya with that book ya were looking for yer research. The one who---"

Hisou waved his hands, once Hisaki started explaining, it'll be years before he stopped, "Yeah, yeah, I remember him what about him?"

Hisaki looked a bit annoyed by the interruption, but continued, "Well, he was looking at yer ass when ya reached for the book at the top shelf." He grinned.

Hisou was still flushing.

Houki's eyes widened from her position behind the door._ Hisou's GAY?!_

"Houki, honey. What are you doing there?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin at her mom's voice, "I…uh…h-hi mom…I was just…going in…"

Megumi looked at her, totally not believing. "Well, after you go in, could you call on Hisaki? They're going home."

Hisaki and Hisou were laughing when they heard voices from the other side of the door. Eyes wide, Hisou turned to Hisaki. Houki was there! She heard them!

They waited for a minute, not really knowing what to do, and then the door opened. Houki looked at them. They were still in the same position as they were when she left them. Hisou standing y the door, Hisaki on the bed. But something was different, they were both relaxed and there wasn't as much tension in there as there was earlier. Aside from the abrupt change in atmosphere, what she noticed the most was their reactions. Hisou's eyes were wide, like he just saw a juggling ghost enter the room or something. Hisaki wore pretty much the same expression, but his mouth was wide, fangs shining in the light and his shoulders were slumped. All in all, he looked like a hungry kid who just watched someone throw a piece of bread away, in short: pathetic.

Houki smiled at them, despite their reactions…or rather because of it, " 'Saki, go down, you're going home."

Hisaki stood up and straightened his shirt as much as one could straighten a permanently crumpled shirt, "Well, I'm off. Hisou, see ya! Houki!"

Hisou gave him a pleading look, he didn't wanna be left in a room with his sister when he had the crazy feeling that she heard him and Hisaki talking about him being gay. Hisaki grinned at him and walked out the door.

He was about to do the same thing when he heard Houki's voice behind him. "Oh no, you don't."

He groaned.

AN: Aaahhhh! I finally got that out of my system! I really wasn't exactly planning for them to make up this easily, but I have to move on. I haven't even gotten to the main plot yet and I still have one issue to settle. *groans* But anyway…at least it's done. Soo…wanna tell me whatcha think? C'mon! I spent days thinking about this! It practically ate my whole nonexistent life on those times I was thinking about it. Ne…whatcha think?


	13. Twelfth Part

**Notes: ***blushes wildly* **Otaku**…ya think so? Oh, that's nice…uhm **TA**, about the tenses thing, sorry. That doesn't mean anything but me forgetting them. Anyway, I'll try to watch it from now on (oi, see the sacrifices I make for you guys? Hehe) **Chibiwizardgreenmon**(uhm, did I get your name right?)…I hope this is interesting enough for you!****

**PART TWELVE**

Hisou released the breath he didn't realize he was holding and slumped his shoulders. He turned to face Houki who was standing with her arms crossed over her chest, her face stern.__

She raised an eyebrow. "Explain."

Feigning innocence, he smiled, "Huh?"

Houki's expression didn't waver, "You know what I'm talking about. Explain."

Hisou ran his hands through his hair, trying to look as tired as possible, "Long day, huh? Can we talk about this tomorrow?" He yawned for effect.

Not letting him go, she said, "No. We'll talk about this now. You've held up on me for a long time already."

Hisou took a deep breath and leaned against a drawer, "Fine. What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, is it true?" she asked. Not letting him answer, she fired questions one after the other, "How can you be gay?? Didn't Mom and Dad raise you well? Didn't they raise US well? How can you even think of BEING gay? Was it a choice? Did you voluntary become one? What? Why aren't you answering my questions?"

Hisou stared at her, "First off, if you'd stop long enough for me to even THINK of an answer, I might. Second, keep your voice down, Mom and Dad STILL live in the same house, you know?" he said calmly, but fiercely.

Houki took a deep breath and signaled Hisou to do the same by waving her hands in front of her like a ninja master, "Okay, let's talk about this calmly and rationally. How did it happen?"

Hisou ran his hand through his hair again, a nervous gesture he seemed to be picking up, "I don't know! it's not exactly a conscious choice, you know. I didn't wake up one morning and said, "Hey! I wanna kiss some guys!" And no, I didn't volunteer for anything," he said, seething. How can she even say something like that?!

"Well, how long have you known?"

"Eight days, one month, five years, I don't know! all I know is that I am and apparently there's nothing I can do to change that." Hisou said, waving his hands in the air exasperatedly.

For a while, Houki looked confused, "I don't understand. You used to date girls. You even two-timed your former girlfriend with ANOTHER girl. Girls used to hang around you and you seem so happy about it. Oh nooo…they're cross dressers, aren't they?!"

Hisou's eyes went wide the size of dinner plates, "WHAT?! No! those are real girls, they have the same equipment you do and that, my naïve little sister, is what people call a 'cover up', look it up in the dictionary sometime. And for your information, girls STILL hang around me."

Houki snorted, "What? Are you telling me you just used all those girls?"

"No! I was going through a stage of denial that time," Hisou explained, brows scrunched up.

Houki smirked, "Well, have you kissed them?"

"Yes."

"Have you groped them?"

Eyes wide. "GROPE?! The things that come out of your mouth…"

"Well, have you?"

"I…yes, I…tried." He answered, and tried to keep from blushing.

"Have you had sex with them?"

"No! Of course, not. Houki, I was confused. Not a pervert."

Still smirking. "Wow. You really ARE gay."

Clenching his jaw, he stood straighter and looked her in the eye, "Hey! Just because I haven't—" then he realized something, "Hey. Are you trying to tell me you're not a virgin anymore? Have you had sex?!"

Houki's eyes grew wide at the accusation, "WHAT?! NO!"

Hisou smirked and leaned back on the drawer, "So, then your boyfriend's gay."

"He's not!"

"How'd you know? You've had sex, haven't you?"

"No, I did not!"

Hisou's eyes narrowed, "Who's the bastard? Tell me; is it your present boyfriend? It's Mark, isn't it? I knew I couldn't trust the guy. I just KNEW the moment I laid eyes on that greasy head of his. It's him, isn't it?"

"No!"

"Houki, I'm telling you. If you get pregnant at an EARLY age—"

Houki gritted her teeth. "Keep your voice down."

Hisou sneered at her, "Why, are you afraid Mom and Dad would know about your indecent acts?" He was enjoying this. It was obvious, Houki can practically hear the smile in his voice.

"Yes. Because I haven't."

Hisou continued to leer at her, which made her absolutely uncomfortable. But he didn't notice, or he decided to ignore her, because he continued the interrogation, "Then why are you keeping me from shouting?"

Houki took a deep breath; mostly it's to keep her from strangling her brother. Hisou's the epitome of perfection. He succeeds at almost everything. By everything, that includes being annoying. "Because I don't want them to think something that isn't true to be true."

"Oh, stop denying. I never liked kissing girls, but I thought that exact same way while going through that denial stage."

Houki grinded her teeth, "I'm not in denial!"

Realization dawned on Hisou's face and he ran his hands across the lower part of his face, from the chin to his neck and back to the chin again, "Oh, of course. You're just in hiding."

"I'm not hiding anything. I didn't have sex with Mark or with ANYONE."

"Yeah right."

Houki clenched her hands into fists at her side. Truthfully, she's five microseconds away from punching her brother into oblivion, but she controlled herself. Barely. "Of course it's right. It's true!"

Hisou got up from his leaning position on the drawers and turned for the door, waving his hands. "Whatever. Talk to me when you're out of the closet."

"Oh yeah? Speak for yourself!" And with that, Hisou closed the door shut. Houki, on the other hand, was left to stare at the closed portal, wondering how the discussion ended up with her as the topic.

Cursing her brother, she changed into her pajamas and thanked the heavens their house had thick walls.

~*~

On Monday morning, things were back to normal. Megumi was the first up and cooked breakfast for five, Hisou was, like his normal morning self, hard to wake up, Houki still took an eternity in the bathroom, and their father was still in the table already when they both went down, reading the newspaper. And since everything was back to normal at their house that morning, that meant they also have an early visitor.

"Hey Mrs. M! Where's Hisou?"

Megumi transferred the eggs to a plate and smiled at Hisaki, "Good morning Hisaki. Grab a plate and start with breakfast, Hisou and Houki will be down shortly." Then, she turned to the stairs, "Guys! Hurry up! 'Saki's here! You'll be late!"

Hisaki sat down and stacked five pancakes on his plate. While he was on the process of drowning his breakfast to death, Mr. Migoto greeted him, "Hi 'Saki. I trust you and Hisou fixed your issues?"

"Yeah, we're fine now." He said in between bites, "Man! I missed your pancakes, Mrs. M!"

Megumi laughed, "Thank you. Chew slowly, I wouldn't want to send you to the hospital for choking again."

Mr. Migoto laughed while Hisaki blushed and took smaller bites of his breakfast. Hisou and Houki went down three pancakes and two bacons later, arguing. "What's your problem? Oh, hey 'Saki."

Houki stomped off after Hisou, glaring at his back, "What I don't get is why won't you just tell me?"

"Will you guys simmer down? It's Monday. It's morning. I'm getting a headache."

Houki smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, Dad."

"Yeah, quit that bickering so early in the morning. You're ruining my breakfast."

"Oh, hi 'Saki. Enjoying?" She slapped him on the back as he was drinking his juice. This caused him to choke and go into a coughing fit. He had to cover his mouth to keep the contents of it from spraying across the table. Houki and Hisou laughed. Their parents, however, didn't see the humor in it. "Houki, stop that. You two, just eat and go, will you?"

After breakfast, the three of them were piled in Hisou's car, with Hisaki driving, Houki in the passenger's seat and Hisou at the back. Normally. Hisou won't let Hisaki near the driver's seat within a 5-mile radius, but him and Houki were arguing way too loud and way too long about who'll seat up front. So, as much as he hated doing it, he let them both seat up front.

"What the fuck're ya guys arguing about, anyway?" Hisaki asked, while keeping his eyes on the road.

Houki looked at him from combing her hair, "Hisou won't tell me who he likes."

"She won't tell Mom and Dad that she slept with someone." Hisou said from the back.

Houki whacked Hisou's head, "I did NOT!"

Hisaki looked at them, but didn't say anything. Hisou was rubbing his offended body part when the car skidded to a halt.

"What the HELL?!" Houki said while prying herself off from the windshield.

Hisaki still didn't say anything, but turned to her and looked at her with heated eyes. Hisou didn't notice for he was busy removing himself from the space between the front seats, when they stopped abruptly, he shot forward and was now stuck. While doing this, he thanked all the gods that he decided to bring the Toyota instead of his new car.

"What did you say?"

Both Hisou and Houki's head shot up at Hisaki's menacing tone. They've never heard him sound like that, even if he was mad.

"Huh?" Houki asked while arranging her hair back in place.

"You SLEPT with someone?"

"What? NO!" she turned to her brother who finally managed to remove himself from where he was earlier, "Tell him!"

"YOU fuckin slept with SOMEONE?"

"'Saki, I didn't."

"Fuck, tell me! Did you?" Hisaki asked, after he took hold of her shoulders and shook her.

Houki winced, Hisou tried to pry Hisaki away from his sister, "Hey, HEY! What's the matter with you? You're hurting her! Stop it!"

Finally, when Hisaki was calmed and removed from Houki, Hisou faced him, "What's the matter?"

"D-did she fuckin sleep with someone?"

"No! Hisou, tell him!"

Hisou looked at Houki and then back to Hisaki, "She didn't. We were just joking around. What happened?"

Hisaki ran his hand through his hair and leaned against the headrest, "Nothing. Just, Houki," he turned to her, "promise me. Promise me you won't sleep with anyone until you're married. Promise me you won't do anything so goddamn stupid while yer this young, okay?"

"Okay."

Then, he clicked, "Well then! Let's fuckin go to school! Oh shit! We're goddamn late!" Just like that, he accelerated the car and turned on the radio.

Houki and Hisou looked at each other, then leaned back into their respective seats. Hisaki seems…weird lately. Houki looked at him from the corner of his eye while he was busy overtaking various cars like a daredevil, going at sixty on a residential area. He seems normal…but not quite.

~*~

At lunch, Hisaki and Hisou were walking to the canteen when they saw Youshi talking to someone. Hisaki's blood boiled when he saw the blue hair that reached the person's back. Hisou felt the same way, but decided to keep his emotions in check when he felt Hisaki's fist clenched at his side. There's only one person in the whole school that has blue hair that reached to his back. They know this and they don't like it.

During the chat, Youshi spotted them and waved at them. Bidding his companion farewell, he walked over to Hisaki, but stopped when he saw who was standing next to him, "Hisou."

Hisou ran his hand through his hair, a nervous gesture, but Youshi doesn't know that. Hisaki, however, does. "Hi."

"Man, what the FUCK are ya doin talking ta that psychopath?"

Youshi blinked at him, "Who? Chuusei? He was just looking for his girlfriend."

Hisaki's eyes widened, "The freak has a fuckin girlfriend?! Who the hell'd be a nut to fall for that asshole?!"

Youshi's brows furrowed, he never did quite understand why Hisaki hated Chuusei so much, except for the Houki incident, he didn't seem to have done something to the red-haired guy. Even Hisou seemed to have gotten over his hatred for Chuusei, "Yeah, he does. Kouran, you know her? She's a junior, I think. Aiji introduced her to me before."

"The fuck. He's a Psycho AND a cradle snatcher, whaddya know?" Hisaki was fuming. He never liked the guy and whenever he remembers what happened to Houki, his blood boils anew.

Sensing the tension, Hisou spoke up, "Let's go eat, shall we? I'm hungry! Besides, Aiji might be waiting for us already."

When the reached the lunchroom, Aiji was, in fact, actually waiting for them there, "What took you so long? I'm so hungry! Hey, Hisou, 'Saki, nice to know your together again."

Hisaki elbowed him on the arm playfully, "Nice ta know yer still a geek."

"Funny. And for your information, I'm not a geek, I'm merely interested with academics."

"HEAVILY interested, you might say," Youshi teased, winking at Aiji.

Aiji's eyes widened, "Hey! How come you always pick on me, Hisou gets the same grades I do!"

Hisaki snorted, "Yeah he does, but he has a fuckin social life, which is more than I can say fer ya!"

"I have a social life!"

Hisaki picked at his lunch, "What the fuck is this?"

"And I have friends to prove it."

Hisou peered at Hisaki's plate, "Uhm…I'm not sure. Goo?"

"Tell them, Youshi. You're my friend. Tell them I have a social life."

Youshi looked down at his own plate, "I'm not really sure what this is, but people seem to be enjoying it." He looked around for evidence.

"I go out. We do, don't we, Youshi?"

Hisaki stopped at his inspection and turned to Aiji, pointing accusing fingers at him, "AAAAHHHH!!!! YOU'RE GAY, TOO?!?!?!?!"

The whole room was silenced at Hisaki's outburst. Aiji's face lost its color, Youshi's shoulders slumped, his mouth wide open, and Hisou sat there, looking at his best friend in fear. Hisaki turned to the whole room, as if to say 'what the fuck are ya looking at?!' but before he can say anything, Hisou sprang into action and laughed. "AHAHAHAHAH!! Don't mind him! It's just an inside joke!" Everyone settled back to their seats and he pulled his best friend down. "What the HELL is wrong with you?!" He asked, in a stage whisper.

Hisaki looked at him as if to say, 'What did I do now?'

When he saw that Hisaki didn't know what the hell he was talking about, he continued, "Never. Never joke about someone's sexuality in this school. These people don't take kindly to that. Remember what happened to Lucy from two years ago?"

Hisaki looked at him and realization dawned on his face. He turned to Aiji and said quietly, "Sorry man. I was kiddin."

Youshi turned to the boy beside him to find that Aiji was still rendered speechless and immobile by Hisaki's rather loud statement. After feeling the others' eyes on him, Aiji blinked. He looked at them and smiled. Finally, he turned to Hisaki and said, "It's okay. I know you were. I just…you know how I hate being singled out in a crowd. No biggie."

They continued eating and joking. But, the jokes were a little too forced and the air was a little too heavy. Hisou looked at Hisaki at the corner of his eye, something is terribly wrong with his best friend. His tactlessness is too much and he barely keeps his emotions in tact.__

Well, not like ever does. But something seems amiss… 

AN: Actually, I wrote the exchange (first scene, confrontation) first in a script-like manner. When I was about to type the whole thing complete with the visual images of the whole scene, my mom went down and saw me in front of the computer, wanna know what happened? Scroll down (this is the English Version)…****

**Qkslvr: ***typing*****

**Mom: **I thought you were asleep?****

**Q: **I was. I just got up.****

**M: **It's 2am. You got up to use the computer?****

**Q: **No.****

**M: **Why are you up?****

**Q: **I don't know. I just am.****

**M: **… *turns on TV*****

**Q: ***realizing she's not planning on leaving anytime soon, shuts down computer and walks to the bathroom, script in hand*****

**M: **What's that?****

**Q: **Paper.****

**M: **What?****

**Q: **Paper. *closes door to bathroom* (take note: close not slam)****

The next morning…****

**M: **I didn't get much sleep.****

**Q: **Why?****

**M: **You woke me up.****

**Q: ***really baffled* Huh?****

**M: **This morning, when I woke up, I didn't get any more sleep.****

**Q: **But why, I wasn't making noise…****

**M: **Yeah, but I was looking for you. Mother's instincts. (okay, mom. I was DOWNSTAIRS, not on a plane to ENGLAND!)

Well, since I realize that the exchange seems to be longer than the actual story, I'll stop here. At least I can prove my point: Parents. Can't live with 'em. Oh yeah, another point is, I lost the whole visual because of it. Heh. Review mi amigas/amigos…whatever.


	14. Thirteenth Part ooh

**Notes: ***grumbles* School opens in a week. I should be really relieved cuz I don't have to die of boredom at home, but…it's school! And it's on the fifth! And we're gonna have our major subjects starting this year! *grumbles*

AAAAHHHH!!!!! What did I do?! I just added another issue to settle before tackling the actual plot. Argh…I should really stop doing this.

Okay, for the benefit of those having trouble remembering the characters (same goes for me ^_^;;) or those who just joined us, I made this quite useful table for everyone. (In order of appearance)

**SEISHI**

**SEISHI REINCARNATIONS **(last, first)

Hotohori

Migoto Hisoume

Nuriko 

Seikou Youshi 

Chiriko

Migawari Aiji

Tasuki 

Jinsoku Hisaki

MIstukake

Shitsuren Anrui

**PART THIRTEEN**

"Hey, have you noticed something different with Hisaki lately?"

They—Aiji, Hisaki and Youshi—were walking out of campus that afternoon and heading to the coffee shop two block down when the topic of Hisaki came into the dicussion.

"Yeah, he seems weird. Well, weirder than usual." Youshi said, kicking the pebbles that dared to stand in his way. Although him and Hisou had almost returned to being friends again, he still didn't feel comfortable around him. This guy has feelings for him, and even though he tried to tell himself that Hisou had gotten over him already, that they really are just friends again, a part of himself told him that it wasn't that easy. Crushes don't just end like that, especially when the two parties usually spend afternoons like this in close contact with each other. Besides, another part of him told him that he wished Hisou hadn't gotten over him already.

Getting confused with his trail of thoughts, Youshi shook his head and forced himself to focus on something else. It was at this point when he realized that someone was holding his arm and talking to him. "I'm sorry, what?"

Hisou smiled, "We're here."

When they both realized that Hisou's hand was still on Youshi's arm, they both retreated slowly to avoid any unwanted attention—Aiji's especially—and blushing. Unbeknownst to them, Aiji had already noticed it._ Idiots, the both of them._

They entered the establishment and went to order coffee. They were about to go to their usual table when Hisou spotted Houki waving madly at them. He smiled and signaled his companions to come with him. They sat at Houki's booth and placed their bags and books on it. Hisou did the introductions, "Youshi, this is my sister, Houki. She's a year lower than us. Houki, he's the new student from Japan."

Houki shook Youshi's hand, which, by now, he realized was the common courtesy when being introduced to someone.

"You know Aiji, he's also in the same year with me—"

"Yeah, I know you. You used to be in the same class as me in junior high." Houki said.

Aiji blushed, "Yeah. I was accelerated when on my supposedly last year. Instead of that, they made me enroll for high school."

Houki smiled in awe, "That's so cool! One year less of studying! So, whatcha guys doin' here? Hisou, where's Hisaki?"

Hisou sipped his coffee and thought for a while, "He's stillin school. Practicing basketball. What are YOU doing here?"

"No class."

Hisou raised his eyebrow, "No class? Or are you just meeting Mark?"

Houki smiled, "That, too." Seeing his look, she blushed and swatted his arm, "Not for that!"

She then started to engage in a conversation with Youshi in Japanese, with Aiji interjecting every once in a while.

Hisaki arrived thirty minutes later, sweaty, thirsty as hell and noisy as ever.

~*~

They walked out of the coffee shop, almost two hours later. Houki left earlier, when Mark—her boyfriend—picked her up. After being interrogated by Hisou for a good fifteen minutes, they left in his motorcycle. Hisou didn't like Mark. Not even an inch of him, but he can tell Houki's happy with him, and he seemed to be, as well so he just let his worries stay in the back burner. But during their small talk, he had made it impossibly clear to the almost-six-foot seventeen year-old that if he ever treated Houki wrong, Hisou wouldn't have second thoughts of beating him bloody and leaving him on a dark alley. He even said it to make sure he understood. Mark looked like he understood pretty well. But just in case, Hisaki explained it again. Only his version included something about ripping his balls out, putting it in a blender and making him drink it.

The poor guy was shuddering violently when they left.

"So, where are ya guys headin'?" Hisaki asked as he hoisted his bag on his shoulder.

Aiji gestured to the books clutched at his chest, "I'm going to get a head start on a history project."

"Hey, man. I thought yer gonna teach me Math?!" Hisaki asked. "I even have the books here with me!" he said, lifting his bag.

Aiji eyed him questioningly, "I thought Hisou was gonna teach you?"

Hisou made a face, "Yeah. But Hisaki is a very difficult student! He wouldn't know an abscissa if it hit him smack in the face."

"Ahh, so you're giving him to me! Very nice…"

"It's fuckin hard, man! I'm not as smart as you are, but I can't afford to let my grades drop, I'll be outta the team!"

Aiji sighed, seems like he lost. Well, there goes that head start. "Fine. Let's go. Where do you wanna study?"

Hisaki shrugged, "Wherever. Oh, your house. Ya have lots books there."

"Okay." Aiji said, then he turned to Hisou and Youshi, "Well, we're going this way. See ya guys, tomorrow!"

Hisaki waved and smiled knowingly at Hisou. Hisou smiled back and blushed. From the looks of the smile and the blush coloring Hisou's face, Youshi would have to be an idiot to know that Hisou still hadn't gotten over him, yet. Part of him wanted to scream and just make him forget him already, but part of him wanted to laugh and be all joyful about that realization. But, it's still best to just forget it and move on, right? That'd make it easier on both of them, right? Right?

Hisou sighed and buried his hands in his coat pockets, "So, just us, huh?"

Youshi smiled at him, albeit awkwardly, "Yep."

Hisou shifted from one foot to another._ What to say, what to say. Argh, Hisou! Say something! And by that, I mean something intelligent…_

"You up for ice cream?"

Youshi eyed him warily, "We just came from a coffee shop."

If he won't look stupid whacking his head on the street, he might have. But the last thing he needed was to look more idiotic in front of Youshi than he is now._ Ice cream. What the hell were you thinking?! Not exactly intelligent, huh?!_

"But I guess I could use one."

Hisou blinked, "Huh?"

Youshi smiled, "Ice cream. I could use one."

In a few minutes, they were walking out of a BTIC shop with ice cream cones in hand. They walked along the sidewalk for a few minutes before deciding to head for the park. Hisou winced when he saw where they were going. The swings.

Youshi felt more than saw Hisou's reaction when he saw they were heading for the swings. Frankly, he feels the same way about that exact spot, but better to do it right here than any other place. He tried ignoring it, he really did, but somehow, the feeling seemed to always rise to the top of his head when he's in close contact with Hisou. And he's afraid it might consume him sooner or later if he didn't face it now.

They sat on the swings, the exact swings they sat on that fatefully unforgettable night. Hisou felt uncomfortable all over again the moment they walked to the place. So, as he sat on the swinging contraption, all his thoughts were on what to say to ease the tension. Well, that and on not letting his ice cream drip from looking too much in Youshi's direction. However, his thoughts were cut short when Youshi cleared his throat and started to speak.

"The stars don't show much in this part of town, does it?" Youshi asked, looking up at the sky.

Hisou looked up, but was unable to see what Youshi was talking about. He grew up in this place. He looked at those stars almost as soon as he knew what the heck stars were. Sure, he had gone to different places, countries even, but this is the only sky he remembers. For him, there' really no point of comparison. "I guess so."

Youshi licked at his rocky road ice cream, "Back home in Tokyo, we don't see stars much either. We live in the city so the stars don't show much. But I have a telescope in my room and every night I look through it and see the stars that can't be seen in the night sky," he sighed dreamily, "It's beautiful."

Hisou smiled,_ and so are you._

Then, Youshi turned to him; his expression suddenly turned serious, "We have to talk."

Hisou was so sure the color had been drained from his face. He wasn't expecting that subject to be brought out now, and by Youshi no less. He looked at the purple-haired boy, regarding him with kind, yet hard eyes._ Looks like there's no getting away with this, then…_

He nodded. Youshi continued, "You…ah…you said…" he reached out for Hisou's arm, "don't run, okay?"

Hisou smiled sarcastically but nodded.

Youshi took a deep breath and continued, "I…I'm not…well, used to this…"

Tilting his head to the side, Hisou eyed Youshi questioningly, _what, having someone like you? Or having a BOY like you?_ He thought, but said, "To what?"

"Well…this…talking to someone…about…well," Youshi said, looking down.

The wind blew past them, making them both shiver and bury themselves in their jackets. The park was almost empty at this time of the night; except for a few passers-by they were almost totally alone. Youshi looked around, not sure what to say. Hisou was no better, he looked down on the ground, closely studying his shoes.

"Can I ask you something?" Youshi's voice seemed to tear at the silence that had enveloped them for a while.

Hisou looked up to face him, "Yeah?"

"How…uhm…I mean…when you…since…"

Finally, Hisou took pity on him and came to his rescue, "How did I know? I don't know. It…wasn't exactly something that just came to me full-blown. It…it kinda progressed slowly."

Youshi nodded, not sure what else to say. Well, what the hell do you tell someone who likes you, who incidentally is a boy and is also incidentally your friend?

"You know what…it's no big deal, really. You don't have to worry about it. I…I won't mind."

He turned to Hisou as the brown-haired boy spoke it, "You…wouldn't mind, what?"

Hisou smiled, "If you're, you know…uncomfortable about this. We…can just…forget about this." Then, he looked down, "It's okay."

Youshi looked at him for a while, studying the emotions playing on the taller man's face._ He's lying. How can he just forget about something like this? _Slowly, he stood up and walked over stand in front of Hisou. Taking a deep breath, he took Hisou's hand that was holding onto the side of the swing between both of his. Hisou, surprised at the gesture and a bit flushed, looked up. Youshi was…smiling. His face held no trace of anger or disgust, just the smile playing on his lips. Slowly, Youshi pulled Hisou up and soon they were standing in front of each other, hands held.

Hisou felt both uneasy and excited at the same time. Here he was, standing in front of the person he just confessed feelings for, not two weeks ago, his hand held between the small, smooth hands of the boy who stood a good foot shorter than he is. Youshi, for his part, was looking deeply into Hisou's eyes, still clutching the taller man's hand in his own.

Hisou ran his hand through his hair and absently licked his lips. Uncomfortable would be an understatement to what he's feeling at that moment. Excited, nervous, frantic, and sweaty, maybe. Not uncomfortable, though. It's not even big enough to describe his emotions.

With a tug and a smile, Youshi pulled Hisou to another part of the park. Hisou blinked, surprised at this turn of events, and just let Youshi drag him to wherever he was planning to go to. Blushing, he thought,_ I was so sure we were gonna kiss right there…_

After a few moments of running, youshi pulled them to a halt. Hisou looked around, it was a clearing somewhere in the park. He didn't even know it existed. Then, his thoughts shifted to another direction and yet again, he started blushing madly.__

_What…what are we doing here?! Are we…?_

"Uhm…why are we here?" Hisou asked.

Youshi smiled up at him and looked at the sky. "I discovered this a week ago. I was trying to see where the other end of the park'll lead me when I found myself here. Look at that," he pointed to the sky at a cluster of stars. "I was so surprised when I saw those stars here. I sued to see them back home as well."

Hisou looked up, not completely understanding what they were doing here. One minute they were in the park, talking about his not-so-recent highly embarrassing confession, and then they were standing closely in front of each other—so close, in fact—and now they were here, in the middle of a clearing, somewhere in the park, looking at stars.

"Why? Because this is a special place, Hisou, that's why."

Hisou turned from the sky to the man standing beside him, Youshi's features illuminated by the moonlight, his face glowing with its ethereal beauty._ A special place… _"Then…why?"

Youshi looked at him, smiling, "Why ask why? This place is special to me. I want to share it with someone. I chose you."

"You chose…me?" Hisou asked, blinking. Honestly, he still has no clue as to why they were here or, more to the point, why is HE here.

Youshi let go of his hand and twirled around the place, laughing, "You don't get it, do you?"

Hisou followed his every move, staring at him blankly. Youshi stopped moving and just looked back at him. "Kisama…you really don't get it." It's not a question, but a statement. From looking at Hisou's expression, it seems very obvious that he truly had no idea what's the point of being here. Finally giving up, he walked over to Hisou and took his hand again, "It's getting dark. We should head home."

Hisou blinked but nodded.

They walked out of the park a few minutes later and headed to Youshi's dorm. Hisou insisted on walking the other boy home, telling him about the harms of the night and what it was like for a foreigner to walk along the dark streets. Youshi just shrugged, after all, who was he to say no to an offer?

~*~

That night, Hisou laid in his bed, thinking of the events that night. Him meeting Aiji and Youshi after their last class. Them going to the coffee shop. Him and Youshi getting ice cream. The park. The swings. His hands being held. Running to the clearing. The stars. Youshi's eyes. Youshi's peacefully awed expression. The walk home.__

_This place is special to me. I want to share it with someone. I chose you…_

_It's special. I chose you…_

_I chose you…_

_You don't get it, do you?_

Laughter.

If anyone asked him to write down everything he remembered about that night, he could've written a novel.

AN: BTIC (Better Than Ice Cream) is definitely my favorite ice cream in the whole world (Uhm, it's actually yogurt, so low fat), except for Haagen Dazs of course, cuz it's too expensive.

I know this should be a tender moment between them and I made a lousy job at writing it. I still don't have a firm grasp on the language (English) that I can't find the right words to use. This is the reason why I usually use clichés to describe some things. When I tried to make a draft of this in my own language, I think I came up with a whole page of just the park scene alone. But, when I translated it here, I ended up with this. But, I'm dying to get on with this and move on to the actual plot, so…

Oh yeah, if this has any glaring (or, it doesn't have to be glaring, really) grammatical or technical problems, or any problems at all (i.e. plot holes and such) kindly tell me, kay?

People, review! It's a really good feeling when you check your account and see that the reviews increased. Besides, readers kinda owe it to the authors to just tell them what they thought of the writing…even if it sucks. But, for those who plan on writing flames, my email address is qkslvr@email.com, please just email me…I'm a very shy person…and I cry easily. ^_____^


	15. Fourteenth Part

**Notes: **Sorry for the lack of updates! I totally forgot about this, but I received a review complaining about the updates so…ehehe…here it is. Actually, this thing's been sitting in my computer since last March, I think…

**PART FOURTEEN**

RRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGG 

Students piled out of their classrooms when the final bell rang. Hisaki and Youshi gathered by Hisou's locker but found that their two officer friends were nowhere to be found.

"Heya! Oi, where's Hisou and Aiji?" Hisaki asked as he approached them and smacked Youshi on the back. The smaller boy coughed a bit and leaned on the lockers for leverage. When he regained balance, he hoisted his backpack and said to them, "The principal called Aiji earlier during the last class. I assume that's where he'll be now."

"Hisou?"

Youshi shrugged, "Maybe he's there, too."

Youshi and Hisaki were already in the hall when Hisou and Aiji emerged from the principal's office.

"What did he want?" Hisaki asked when Hisou approached them.

"Meeting." Hisou said and sat next to Hisaki on one of the chairs lined along the hallway.

Youshi's brows furrowed, "The principal calls Student Council meeting here? I thought they have moderators or something for that?"

"Not usually, he doesn't. But there's some issue he wanted to discuss himself," Aiji said and sat next to Youshi. Then, he perked up, "Oh, hey! Guess what, guess what, guess what?! Look at this," he excitedly shoved a piece of flier at them.

Hisou reached for it and read the announcement, "Miniature Structure contest?"

"Yep, and…" Aiji said, grabbing the paper and tucked it in his satchel pocket, "I have an idea of what we'll do. You see—"

Youshi cut him off, "_We?_"

Aiji beamed, "Yeah! I took the liberty of signing us up! Don't worry we're gonna be a team!"

Hisaki's nose flared, he stood up and stood right in front of the younger boy, "**_WE?_**"

Sliding down his seat, Aiji nodded weakly, "Well, yeah. I was actually planning on just joining. Just me, but I found out it'll be a team effort. I thought the team would consist of just two members, so that'd be just Hisou and me. But I found out that they need four members in each team, so I thought I'd include you two."

"Whoa. Stop. Whatever you say, I'm not in." Youshi said stubbornly.

Hisaki blurted out, "Well fuck, if he ain't in, I sure as hell won't be."

Aiji panicked, "But you can't back out now! I signed us up already! I just needed you guys for the people."

"Aiji, why would you sign us up in something without even asking for our permissions first?" Hisou asked calmly.

Twiddling his fingers, Aiji said, "Well, I know I should've waited, but the signing up ended at sixth period. And I can't find any of you, so I thought…"

"You said you have an idea, what was it?" Youshi asked, looking at the flier.

Aiji's eyes lit up, "Okay. I wanted to do something simple and attainable. The school."

"WHAT?!" The others chorused.

At this, Hisou stood up, "Aiji, I understand you're psychotically attracted to the school, as to why is still a mystery to me, but believe me. I know how much you like school. But, don't you think this is a bit much?"

"No. I mean, look at it. It's easy! It's here! We can just take pictures of the exterior on different angles, and then you and Youshi could do the plan, 'Saki could gather the clay needed from his father's business, and then we could do the model together!"

"There's no way in hell I'm asking anything from the sonofabitch. 'Sides, I didn't hear yer part in it." Hisaki said, jabbing a finger at Aiji accusingly as if to prove his point.

Aiji sighed, "Well, of course. I'll do the research and help out with the model! You're not going to ask help from him, per se, just some clay. We'll do everything on our own. And for Pete's sake, take that finger away from me. So it's done. We'll take pictures tomorrow."

Hisou wiggled a finger in front of him, "Ah-ah-ahh. Since Youshi and I will be doing the plan, WE decide what we'll do. And it's not gonna be the school." He turned to Youshi, "Is that okay with you?"

Youshi smiled. Hisaki snorted. Hisou noticed this and discreetly kicked him, "Ow! Shit! What the hell's THAT for?" then he looked at Aiji, "I still ain't bein a part of this."

A bunch of basketball varsities turned the corner and they saw Hisaki sitting there. One of them, Kouji, a blue-haired youth, a bit taller than Hisaki, called out, "Hey! 'Saki, man! Let's shoot some hoops!"

"Comin!" he called out, then turned to others as he was walking away, "I tell ya, I ain't gonna be a part of this."

_Whatever, buddy. _Aiji thought as he shrugged.

~*~

"Okay, what do you think about this?" Youshi asked, showing the picture of an old castle.

He and Hisou had been in the library for almost the whole day, trying to see what would be the best structure they should do. So far, they have none.

"I don't know, isn't that a bit…I dunno…hard?" Hisou asked before going back to his book.

"Huh, yeah." Youshi said absentmindedly and resumed flipping the pages.

True to his word, Hisaki had not been very helpful of the project. In fact, he didn't even want to be part of its discussion. Youshi and Hisou, on the other hand, can't help but feel sorry for Aiji. He's been so excited about it since he showed them the flier last Wednesday. Besides, it's not like they have much to do anyway. The only thing they weren't so hot about is the idea of doing a replica of the school. They've spent a majority of their lives in school, there's no way they'd be doing it as a project.

And so now here they are, sitting in the library on a Saturday weekend. Having replaced their white dress shirts and black slacks with jeans and T-shirts, they sat in the library, looking through books about different structures around the world.

Youshi closed the book he'd been holding for the last hour or so and gently placed it on the table. "Tell me, why again, did we agree to doing this?"

Hisou looked at him sympathetically, "Aiji wanted to do this badly and we pitied him." He smiled, "Besides, if we're gonna do this, we're gonna do this well."

Sighing as he lowered his head to the table, Youshi moaned, "I refuse to spend my Saturday in a library, of all places!"

The librarian shushed them loudly and firmly pointed to the "SILENCE" sign by the wall. Seeing everyone looking at them, Hisou smiled apologetically and looked at Youshi. "Keep your voice down. The last thing we want is to be banned from the library now. Not until we find a good structure to do."

Youshi lifted his head from the table, took a deep breath, and looked at the book, as if talking to it, "Okay. Let's do this one more time."

They stayed there two hours more until they found exactly what they were looking for.

"I'm starving, you wanna go grab something?" Youshi asked as they were walking out of the library, rubbing at his stomach for proof. After finding what they needed, they had the pictures photocopied. The library doesn't let reference books be borrowed. The copies they had in hand were, to say the least, totally helpless because the copier could only make black and white copies. But they agreed to just look it up in the Internet.

"Yeah. I think we missed lunch," Hisou said, looking at his watch, 3:25.

They entered a restaurant and ordered their lunch there. As they were walking to their table, trays in hand, Hisou almost stopped dead in his tracks._ We're on a date. Well, technically, we are._

They found a table by the window and sat across from each other.

"So, you come here often?" Youshi asked, attempting at small talk. He's been with Hisou all afternoon and the other hasn't mentioned last night at all._ Didn't he get it or is he playing cool?_

"Not really, just a couple of times, I think." Hisou said. He looked earnestly at his plate, trying to squeeze the stupid idea that they were on a date out of his mind.

I chose you… 

He still can't get Youshi's comment from last night out of his mind. And to tell the truth, he still doesn't get it.

After lunch, they went to the basketball court where Hisaki plays. They spotted him and some other guys by the bleachers and walked over to him. As they went to Hisaki's direction, Youshi tugged at Hisou's sleeve, "Hey, who's that?"

Hisou scanned the crowd around Hisaki, "Which one?"

"That one, with the sort of teal hair," Youshi pointed to the one sitting on Hisaki's right, making wild gestures while telling something. Youshi figured that maybe Hisaki got his mannerisms from that guy, or the other way around.

"That's Kouji. He's been in the same basketball team as Hisaki since junior high. Why?"

Youshi smiled, "Nothing. Just curious."

"Hey man! Over here!" Hisaki called out to them.

They walked over to where Hisaki and the others sat. Hisaki did the introductions for Youshi's sake. When he saw Hisou and Youshi together, approaching him, he had to use all his strength from letting out some wolf-whistles. They were just cute together.

After all of Hisaki's teammates left, he, Hisou and Youshi played Horse for a while and also left after he and Youshi kicked Hisou's ass. Hisou kept telling them that the reason was he wasn't appropriately dressed. Hisaki snickered, they've been teasing his best friend about his lack of basketball skills after he completed 'horses in the valley', while Hisaki only had 'H-o' and Youshi 'H-o-r-s'.

~*~

Hisou and Houki were out shopping the next day. Their Dad just made a deal and out of the generosity of his heart, gave them both shopping money as a bonus. Well, that and Houki's constant pleading.

They were walking out from one of the shops where Houki just purchased a pair of sandals and was about to get lunch when Hisou bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sor—hey!"

Hisou turned to look at the one he bumped into and was surprised to see that it was Youshi, coming out of a telephone booth. "Hi, nice seeing you here."

Houki jumped from Hisou's back to take a peek at Youshi, "Hey…Youshi, right?"

Youshi smiled, "HI, Houki. So, what are you guys doing here?"

Houki gleefully held up her bags, "Shopping. Who were you talking to, your girlfriend?" she asked, leering suggestively at the blushing purple-haired boy.

"Ahahaha…no. That was my friend from home. So, what did you get?"

Pulling him with her, Houki excitedly told Youshi what they did all day, not noticing Hisou's blush from behind them. Youshi tossed Hisou a look as if to ask permission that he'd be tagging along. Hisou returned the smile and trailed after them, leisurely. They entered an Italian restaurant and sat themselves as a waiter took their orders.

AN: Crappy, I know. but I tried redoing it, and for some reason, I always end up with almost the same thing. Heh. Tell me if you hate it.

About the timeline…it's kinda screwed, I know. At first, I tried to make the days go together well, but as the story progresses; the time seemed to kinda slip away. Sooo…what I mean to say is, don't try tracing the days when certain things happen, you'd just get a headache trying to fit them with each other. I know I gave up since chapter 5. Heck, I don't even know what part of the school year they are in right now.


	16. Ack, help!

_"The brain is a wonderful organ, it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office"—_Robert Frost

Unfortunately for me, my brain stops when I'm about to write. --;; But hey, author's block happens to everybody, right? But, why, whyyyyyyyyyy must it happen to me for almost three weeeeeeeeeeeks?!

Okay, here's the situation: I have the next part done…in script-form, that is.

I have no idea how the heck am I gonna write what goes_ in between_ all those script! That's why I need your help. Yep, you, reader…whoever you are. ^_^

Now. I'm not asking you to write the whole next part for me, I'm merely asking for help. Be it in the form of tips or *puppy eyed* helping me write the next part. Anything is appreciated, really. I just need to progress from this.

I actually have the outline/script for the upcoming…*checks*…4 chapters, including part 15. And I actually did most of chapter 16, but unfortunately, I can't post it until I've done chapter 15. And it's driving me insane! I've tried to write and rewrite it a hundred times and still: zilch.

I can't help but think that this is like a sign from above saying that I've no business writing, but then, I realize that it's not the time for self-loathing, whatever. So I stop.

I'm a bit desperate, can you tell. ^_^

Okay, if annnnnyone is actually moved to tears, or at least pity by this not-so-shy SOS (hey, I'll grovel if you want), or maybe you're actually pissed by my writing, I'd really appreciate the help. My email is qkslvr@email.com, or if you want, you can just leave your email address and I'll do this all over again in private. ^_~


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